Like A Fairytale
by Stardrops
Summary: Faced with difficult decisions about his future, Draco forms unlikely friendships. A passionate romance is sparked – but is not as secret as he supposed. Someone is stalking Draco at Hogwarts – suddenly, keeping himself and Harry safe is very complicated.
1. Thrown Out On The Streets

Title: Like A Fairytale  
  
Author: Stardrops  
  
Genre: Romance  
  
Rating: PG 13: Some violence and slash, precautions only.  
  
Summary: Faced with difficult decisions about his future, Draco forms some unlikely friendships. A passionate romance is sparked – but is not as secret as he supposed. Someone is stalking Draco at Hogwarts – suddenly, keeping himself and Harry safe is more complicated than he imagined.  
  
Chapter One: Thrown Out On The Streets  
  
Black clouds swirled and churned ominously. Forks of lightning kept streaking across the sky, lighting up the darkened outdoors and illuminating the oncoming storm.  
  
Draco shivered as he looked out the window. The only other light in the room apart from the lightning was the fire, flames crackling merrily and reaching as high as possible up the chimney.  
  
He was in the Malfoy Manor, up in his father's study. It was a room rarely used, in summer it was too hot to work in and in winter far too cold. But tonight was an exception. Considering it was late autumn, the room was unusually cold and dark. Echoes of the thunder would resound in the roof above him and the gales of wind reverberated in the chimney, giving the room an eerie feel as though it were haunted.  
  
Draco could hear footsteps coming towards him and a pit opened in his stomach. He knew what was coming. His father had been making hints about it all summer – he was surprised it had taken so long for his father to come to him to properly discuss it.  
  
The door creaked open and Lucius Malfoy entered. He gave the boy the special smile he reserved just for his son, whom he loved very much.  
  
Gesturing to the armchair that was in front of the desk, Lucius sat in his own chair, behind the desk. In pride of place, where he always loved to be. He entwined his fingers and rested his chin on his hands, resting his elbows on the desk. Draco eased himself into the armchair opposite his father and waited nervously.  
  
"So, my son, you shall be in your last year at Hogwarts." Lucius stopped to smile. Draco did not say anything. He knew something much bigger was coming, because his father would not ask him to the study simply to remind him that he was going to be in seventh year this term.  
  
"Are you excited?" Lucius asked in a fatherly tone. Draco shrugged.  
  
"It'll be like everything else really, I'm not even Head Boy, so there isn't any more responsibility." He dared not to glance up; he knew his father was not pleased with the fact that Draco had not achieved the place of Head Boy. "I am sorry for not earning it, father."  
  
Lucius smiled. This was going perfectly. "Well, son, you've done well in everything else, so we needn't worry about this trivial matter."  
  
Draco's head snapped up. He couldn't believe he was hearing this. The corners of his mouth twitched in the beginnings of as smile and he said in slight disbelief, "Really?"  
  
Lucius nodded. "You don't need to be Head Boy to get responsibility. Being a Malfoy has its own responsibilities. I'd much rather you were holding up the name of Malfoy than worrying about getting first years to class." He stopped for a moment and surveyed his beaming son. "But I must remind you of what it means to be a Malfoy."  
  
Draco stifled a yawn. He'd heard this lecture a million times before, and wasn't really in the mood to hear it again. However, just like every other time, he would sit through it and not anger his father again. He hated to disappoint the person he looked up to more than anything else in the world.  
  
"You've been born into one of the most highly respected families of our time. We are purebloods. Therefore, we do not cavort with Mudbloods or Muggles. We are above all of that." He got out of his chair to pace across the room as he lectured his son. "We are some of the richest, most highly paid wizards in the wizarding world, and we have a high reputation to uphold." He swung to face his son. "We do not let anything get in the way of our true purpose," he said softly. "Malfoys have always been firm supporters of Voldemort and all Voldemort's ways. We look to you to continue this tradition."  
  
Draco felt his insides turn cold. He knew this was what his father had really wanted to speak to him about. He opened his mouth to speak, but quickly closed it as his father continued, fearing to interrupt.  
  
"In April, you will be turning eighteen. On your eighteenth, you will be legally an adult." Lucius bent down to kneel beside his sons chair, not noticing the fleeting look of panic that crossed his son's face before the usual blank expression took its place. "You will be given the highest honour a Malfoy – or any pureblood wizard – could ask for," he whispered, a glint in his eye. "Lord Voldemort himself will be here, in the Malfoy Manor, to brand you as a Death Eater."  
  
Draco's insides now resembled ice. He struggled to keep his face passive as his father got inwardly obviously more and more excited about the upcoming event.  
  
"Imagine, Draco," Lucius said softly. "You will be accepted into the Death Eaters. Only the best get that privilege. Hundreds of followers beg to be enlisted, but you have been selected. As a Malfoy. You will be joining your father. Together, we shall be the most valuable followers Lord Voldemort's armies have ever had." He tilted his son's face to look at him, frowning at his son's lack of eagerness. "Does that not enthuse you?"  
  
Draco's stomach was filled with butterflies made completely of ice. He knew he was going to have to tell him father the truth, but the likelihood of his father taking it well was remote.  
  
"Father........." he began, but Lucius interrupted him.  
  
"I know you're probably nervous. We all were when we were initiated! But all you have to do is pledge eternal faith to our lord. The one who will reward us for our service." Lucius's eyes were alive and ecstatic. Draco found it hard to have to crush his father's enthusiasm.  
  
"Don't I have a choice?" he asked so quietly that Lucius had to strain to hear the question. It took his father aback.  
  
"Of course you have a choice, son, the Dark Lord cannot brand you unless you have pledged yourself honestly in his faith." Lucius stopped for a minute. His eyes narrowed as he started to catch on to what his son was implying. "Which you do – don't you?"  
  
Draco cringed. There was a note of suppressed rage in his father's voice and he knew that this was going to be harder to break that he'd initially imagined.  
  
"Well, I-I just don't think I'll be ready to pledge myself to a life in the Dark Force at seventeen – can't I be marked when I'm older?" Draco looked at his father pleadingly, but Lucius's face was as black as the stormy afternoon sky.  
  
Lucius stood to his full height and towered over his now trembling son. "You do not want to follow in my lead?" he said incredulously. "You are not sure that you want to be in the service of the greatest wizard who has ever lived?"  
  
"No! I mean yes! I mean – I only mean that I need more time to – well – I don't want to spend the rest of my life living a mistake!" This was easily one of the stupidest things Draco had ever said. It only infuriated Lucius more.  
  
"Are you implying that I made a mistake? That following Voldemort is not the path you and I should be taking?"  
  
Draco shook his head violently. "No father, I am not implying anything like that! I'm sure that this was the right path for you, but I'm just – I don't think this is the right thing for me yet."  
  
Lucius glared at his son. "And why do you think it is not right for you?"  
  
Draco stared at the ground. "I don't want to be a murderer at the age of seventeen. I don't think it's right," he answered softly.  
  
Lucius laughed derisively. "Draco, being a Malfoy means we have duties. Duties to purge the world of those who do not deserve to live!"  
  
Draco began to feel a little angry now. "And who can decide who gets to live and who doesn't?"  
  
"Those who are born with pure blood deserve life, those who have dirty blood are undeserving!"  
  
Draco exhaled in disbelief. "So you kill someone because they were born to people who were half-blood or wizards and witches who were born to Muggle parents?"  
  
"Lord Voldemort is purging the world of polluted blood, and we help!"  
  
"Why?" asked Draco angrily.  
  
"Because of who we are! We pledged our family to Voldemort and therefore we help him with his duties!"  
  
"So you pledged your family with no regard for what they might want?" Draco asked.  
  
"You are a Malfoy! Every Malfoy has honoured our name and you will not be an exception!"  
  
"Then maybe I don't want to be a Malfoy!" Draco yelled fiercely. His father stopped suddenly and Draco wished immediately he'd not said that. When his father was angry, it was bad enough, but this was past fury. His father's face was no longer black with anger, but very pale.  
  
"You don't want to be a Malfoy?" his father inquired coldly. "Fine. Leave."  
  
Draco sat open-mouthed. "What?"  
  
"You heard me! I told you to get out!" Lucius yelled. His son humiliating him in such a manner was enough for him. A Malfoy refusing to follow the Dark Side was like Harry Potter betraying Dumbledore – completely unexpected.  
  
Draco's mother, Narcissa, appeared in the doorway. "What is going on?" she asked, astonished to see her husband looking so furious and her son looking so shocked and frightened.  
  
Draco moved to speak but Lucius silenced him with one venomous glare. "From this day forward, you and I have no son."  
  
Narcissa's eyes widened. "You're disowning the only Malfoy heir?" She turned to her son in shock. "Why?"  
  
"He refuses to join with Voldemort. He dishonours the family name. He is no son of mine." Lucius said all this with his teeth gritted, as though daring his wife to protest.  
  
Narcissa took one step towards her son, meaning to hug him, but was stopped by the cold fury radiating from Lucius. Draco looked up as his father pulled him roughly from the chair.  
  
"Get your things. Leave my house."  
  
Narcissa began to plead with Lucius. "He's only sixteen, he probably said some things he didn't mean, but that's no reason to throw him out!"  
  
Lucius silenced her with a glare. He followed his son down to Draco's room and watched him woodenly gather some of his more precious belongings. He'd have to leave a lot behind.  
  
Once he'd gotten his school stuff, clothes, books and treasures together, his father shoved him violently down the stairs and into the kitchen where the door was flung open. Draco took a last pleading look at his mother who again tried to reason with Lucius, but nothing would change his mind. He nodded pointedly toward the door, but before Draco could walk out, he said, "This is what will happen if you still refuse to join the Death Eaters. You will leave your mother and I if you cannot join our beliefs. Are you resolute in your refusal?"  
  
Draco shook his head. "No. Who said anything about being resolute? I told you I just wasn't sure if seventeen was the right time for me to join."  
  
Lucius brushed this aside. "So if Voldemort came, would you pledge yourself to him? Or would you rather leave this house, your fortune, and your honour – all because you are too afraid to do the wrong thing with your life?"  
  
Draco was silent.  
  
"Speak!" his father yelled.  
  
He opened his mouth, closed it and then spoke. "I cannot pledge myself unless I'm sure. I'm sorry to have disappointed you both."  
  
He turned and left the house. Walking down the pathway leading to the gate, he could hear his mother's hysterical sobbing issuing from the still-open door. He shut the gate behind him – would this be the last time he ever came here?  
  
He couldn't believe what he was doing. What had happened to him over the summer? Before, he'd been only too happy to join the Death Eaters. He'd never really questioned whether or not it was the right choice for him. All he knew was that his future had been planned out for him.  
  
But over the summer, something had changed for him. He didn't understand why, but suddenly, he no longer wanted that life. He didn't want what his father had. He wouldn't want to live his life killing innocent people because of who they were, not because they'd done something.  
  
He mentally slapped himself. "Good grief, Malfoy, you've gone soft," he told himself. He'd given up his family, fortune, home – now he had nowhere to go. What was he going to do? School went back in a few days, he had no money, no way to get there. He had a broom, but with the weight of his two suitcases, he would not be able to get off the ground.  
  
With a heavy heart, he set off towards the end of the street. If he tried hard enough, maybe he'd find a wizarding place – or even just another wizard.  
  
His suitcases were heavy. They were filled with books, all the books he'd bought for school the past six years. His heart sank as he realized he needed new ones and had no money for any of this years school requirements.  
  
He wondered if the Knight Bus would come to him if he signaled – he didn't have any money to pay for a ticket, but it was worth a try at least. He flung his arm out. Nothing happened. He laughed to himself. He was totally screwed.  
  
Then he jumped back as a huge bus came rumbling towards him. His heart leaped – it was the Knight Bus! The doors were flung open beside him and the conductor hopped out to speak with him.  
  
"You wan' a ride?" he asked – it sounded like he'd been drinking.  
  
Draco nodded.  
  
"Get on en. We don' have all day," he slurred. Draco realized that he had to get on before they sobered up and realized he hadn't any money to pay them with.  
  
There was no one else on the bus. Draco sat alone while the conductor drank more shots out of a bottle with a white label on it. The writing on the label had been rubbed off.  
  
"So where you goin'?" asked the conductor.  
  
Draco racked his brains. "Errr........." He looked out the window. There was nothing he recognized in the scenery.  
  
"Oy! Hold on! I need some money from you," he said with a sudden moment of clarity.  
  
"Um – well, I don't actually have any," Draco said, wondering if they'd kick him off the bus.  
  
They did.  
  
"Shit. I'm screwed," Draco muttered in despair as he watched the bus shoot off down the road without him. He looked all around. There was only trees and bush land. He was clearly somewhere between towns, and he wasn't thrilled at the prospect. How long would it take to find somewhere he could get help? Either way, he had to get moving.  
  
He walked and walked for hours. He'd forgotten to pack food, and his stomach was soon growling loudly. After four hours of straight walking, he sank onto a mossy patch on the side of the road – hidden by the trees, so anyone walking or driving wouldn't be able to steal his bags. Using his jacket as a blanket, he shivered in the unusually brisk autumn air and covered himself with leaves, hoping to insulate his body heat. He fell asleep almost instantly.  
  
Two days later, Harry, Ron and Hermione were strolling along the road to Grimmauld Place. They'd been sent out to get some fresh air, having been cooped up for weeks. They'd decided to go to a Muggle shop and get some racing magazines for Ron – who'd developed a love of car racing. They'd bought three and were on their way home.  
  
Halfway down the road, Harry stopped walking. "Oh, crap." he exclaimed. "I forgot to buy Tonks's gum. Bugger!" Tonks, it turns out, had a taste for chewing gum, and had asked Harry to buy some Muggle flavours for her. Harry fished in his pockets, hoping to find some of his own, but no luck.  
  
"I'd better go back. Will you tell them I've just gone back for something?" he asked Ron. Ron nodded.  
  
"You want us to come?" Hermione offered.  
  
"Nah, you guys head back. Just be waiting out the front to let me back in!"  
  
He watched them head off together before walking quickly back towards the shop. It was a good ten minutes away, and it took him a while to find all the different flavours he knew Tonks liked.  
  
When he'd bought them and stored them safely in his pockets, he began back in the other direction. After a few minutes of very fast walking, something in the bushes beside the road caught his eye.  
  
He looked around cautiously before taking a few steps closer to see what it was. As he neared, he realized it was a person, lying beside the road covered in dirt and dust. He knelt beside the limp figure and tried to gently turn it over. He gasped.  
  
It was Draco Malfoy. Draco, the Prince of Slytherin, was lying filthy in a gutter. And, Harry noticed, with two large suitcases. He was completely and utterly confused.  
  
Looking back to Draco, he saw that the boy was not asleep, as he'd previously thought, but rather was unconscious. He searched for a pulse and found one, much to his relief.  
  
The only problem now was – how was Harry going to get a boy who was larger than him plus two suitcases back to Grimmauld Place all by himself? He tried cautiously to lift the older boy, and surprisingly, he wasn't very heavy. In fact, Draco was astonishingly thin, like he'd not eaten very much for a few days.  
  
Harry left the suitcases on the side of the road and staggered with Draco in his arms down the road for another three or four minutes. Hermione was sitting on the pavement where the house should be, and she was holding the slip of paper they all used when they wanted to get in or out.  
  
When she saw Harry carrying a body, she covered her mouth with her hands and then ran to help. They set him down on the doorstep and Hermione lifted him slightly.  
  
"Oh my god!" she said softly. "It's Malfoy!"  
  
Harry nodded.  
  
"But – what is Malfoy doing here? He lives ages away, doesn't he?"  
  
Harry shrugged. "I dunno. But he had some suitcases with him, should we go get them?"  
  
"No, we should stay with him in case he wakes up. At least he knows us."  
  
"Right."  
  
Just then, the door opened and Molly Weasley came out.  
  
"About time, too, we were all starting to worry," she started, but stopped at the sight of Hermione holding up and unconscious Draco Malfoy.  
  
"Oh lord," was all Mrs Weasley offered before switching into mother mode, taking him in her arms and lying him down carefully in one of the bedrooms. Meanwhile, Tonks and Moody went to fetch the suitcases.  
  
Hermione, Ron and Harry stayed with him all afternoon, carefully bathing the scratches and cleaning the exposed skin as best they could. He hadn't woken by dinnertime, so Ron and Hermione went down to dinner while Harry stayed with him.  
  
As Harry brushed the sandy blonde hair back out of Draco's face, he couldn't help but wonder why the rich, spoiled Slytherin was alone, unconscious and hours away from where he apparently lived.  
  
This was all very, very weird.  
  
TBC  
  
A/N: So. Now he's been thrown out and has no money. Poor Draco. Anyway, if you want to see what happens next, you have to review. Please? ( 


	2. The Forging Of Friendships

Title: Like A Fairytale  
  
Author: Stardrops  
  
Genre: Romance  
  
Rating: PG 13: Some violence and slash, precautions only.  
  
Summary: Faced with difficult decisions about his future, Draco forms some unlikely friendships. A passionate romance is sparked – but is not as secret as he supposed. Someone is stalking Draco at Hogwarts – suddenly, keeping himself and Harry safe is more complicated than he imagined.  
  
Chapter Two: The Forging Of Friendships  
  
By late afternoon the next day, Draco still hadn't woken. This was slightly alarming, because school would be starting the next day, and he wasn't looking at all well. His face was still extremely pale, and though the cuts on his face (from trees, they assumed) had been magically healed, they could do nothing about all the bruising.  
  
His bags did not have any money in them, and only the barest of necessities. They assumed he'd run away from home, though they couldn't imagine why he'd want to.  
  
"Surely he'd be smart enough to pack some food and water, though, I don't think he's eaten for days!" tutted Madam Pomfrey, who'd been summoned by Dumbledore when he'd seen Malfoy's dire state.  
  
Harry had, for some bizarre and unknown reason, been appointed to look after Malfoy til he woke up. He supposed it was because Ron would be likely to slaughter the unconscious boy in his sleep in an attempt of revenge for all the insults Malfoy had ever cast his way, whereas he and Hermione weren't quite as bitter when it came to the stuck-up Slytherin.  
  
Ron and Hermione had gone with the Mr and Mrs Weasley and Ginny to Diagon Alley to get all the school requirements. Harry had given them enough money for his books, quills and ink as well as Draco's. He figured Draco could pay him back when he woke up.  
  
Draco, however, didn't wake til much later. The house was quiet as the Weasleys weren't back yet and everyone else was down in the dining room discussing what the latest in the Order's plans were. Harry was reading a Quidditch book and occasionally glancing over to ensure that Draco was still breathing.  
  
The sun had gone down when Draco regained consciousness. He wondered why the ground was suddenly so soft, and who had come and put a cloak or something over his shoulders. Either way, he was so warm and comfortable that he really didn't fancy moving. He opened his eyes a minute later to find himself in a strange place. In a strange bed. A room he didn't recognize. With Harry Potter sitting casually, reading in a comfy-looking chair beside his bed.  
  
It was then that he first felt the hit of pain in his head and the ache in his stomach. He groaned involuntarily, alerting Harry to his consciousness.  
  
Harry put the book down immediately and looked at Draco. "You all right?"  
  
Draco licked his dry lips. "What the hell do you think?" he snapped. He couldn't remember ever being in such a strange situation with such hunger and pain enveloping him at regular intervals.  
  
Harry grinned. "Good to see you haven't lost your attitude." He reached over to the pitcher sitting on the desk and poured a glass of iced water for Draco. "Here, you look parched."  
  
Draco didn't need to be asked twice, he nearly pounced on the water and swallowed the entire glass in two mouthfuls. He was so thirsty that Harry had to pour him three glasses before he could lie back in bed with reasonable comfort.  
  
"You got any food around here?" Draco asked, trying to ignore the screaming of his head. Harry nodded and left for a moment, returning with a tray of soup and toast.  
  
As Draco was eating, Harry watched. "Can I ask – why were you lying on the side of the road covered in dirt, miles from your house with only two suitcases?"  
  
Draco froze. "Shit. Did someone get the suitcases?"  
  
Harry rolled his eyes. "Relax, of course we did."  
  
Draco nodded. He wasn't accustomed to thanking people, so he often didn't, though he appreciated it in his mind.  
  
"Who found me?" he asked.  
  
"I did."  
  
Draco took another mouthful of soup and swallowed uneasily.  
  
"Okay, I really hate this but – where am I and how did I get here?"  
  
Harry tried to hide a smile. It wasn't every day that the famous Slytherin Prince needed help from Harry Potter, even if it was only information he was after. It would have been interesting to see what expression would have replaced the usually blank one on Draco's face if he realized he was in the headquarters of the Order, who was working against everything Draco stood for, but Harry knew he wouldn't be able to tell Draco where he was in case Draco somehow got it back to the Dark Side.  
  
"Can't tell you much, sorry. Not til you tell me why you left home."  
  
Draco glared at him. "That's my business."  
  
"All right, calm down. Just eat. How long has it been since you last ate, anyway?"  
  
Draco shrugged. "Couple of days."  
  
Harry snorted. "No wonder you were unconscious."  
  
Draco looked up. "How long have I been here for?"  
  
"About a day. Not that long."  
  
Madam Pomfrey came in just then for her usual hourly checkups, and upon seeing Draco awake, immediately began to fuss over him. He kept insisting that he was fine, but when she fixed his headache and offered him a hot bath, he couldn't help smiling in unspoken gratitude.  
  
Harry couldn't help noticing when Draco smiled, it made his whole face look happier. He'd rarely before ever seen Draco smile, and whenever he had, it was usually a smirk rather than a smile.  
  
It made the Slytherin more attractive.  
  
Draco was led carefully to the bathroom, though he kept insisting he could walk fine and that he didn't need help, and Madam Pomfrey ran a hot bath for him. He was left in there for an hour while Harry and Madam Pomfrey went downstairs to inform the others that Draco had woken.  
  
The Weasleys and Hermione were home now, and they were all curious to know why Draco was there.  
  
"Did he say anything?" asked Hermione.  
  
Harry grinned. "He told me basically to mind my own business." It was such a Draco thing to do that he couldn't help but smile.  
  
"So what are we going to do about it?" asked Ron. He was trying his best to keep his dislike of Malfoy beneath the surface at the moment for the sake of everyone else there.  
  
"There's not a lot we can do," said Mrs Weasley. "If he wants to keep it to himself, then I think that is exactly what he is going to do."  
  
By the next morning, Draco was much better. They had to leave for school at ten-thirty, but Harry, Ron and Hermione still asked Draco at breakfast why he'd come.  
  
Draco shrugged. "I didn't mean to come, I sort of just walked in the direction the Knight Bus had gone in."  
  
Ron frowned. "Why didn't you just catch the Knight Bus? Seems like the logical thing to do."  
  
Draco rolled his eyes. "Well, of course I tried, but they kicked me off because I couldn't pay them."  
  
Hermione asked softly, "But why were you out on the streets with no money, food or water?"  
  
Draco didn't answer, and at that point Mrs Weasley, fussing that they were all going to be late, interrupted them.  
  
There was no more time to converse on the way to the station, and it wasn't until they were on the train that they noticed that Draco had disappeared.  
  
"Probably gone off to join his Slytherin mates," Ron said scornfully. "Shows you how appreciative he is, didn't even say thank you to us for looking after him."  
  
Hermione looked around. "I can't understand why he was there though!" she exclaimed. "He wouldn't even tell us with no adults around."  
  
Harry was about to pitch in the conversation when loud voices came from the corridor.  
  
"Why don't you just leave us alone?" It was Pansy's voice.  
  
"But – what? Why?" Draco sounded utterly confused.  
  
"Look, you may still consider yourself either as one or above us, but in our opinion, you suck." Pansy sounded really vicious. They could hear Crabbe and Goyle agreeing in the background. "You don't just leave like that, if you really cared about anything we've ever stood for, then you'd still be on our side."  
  
"What do you mean?" Draco was utterly perplexed.  
  
"I mean that your family is connected to ours by our beliefs! That made us nearly family! When you left, you threw away that connection too. So get lost. We don't want you around."  
  
"Wait, this is totally unfair!" Hermione peeked around the door to see Draco grab Pansy's arm. "I didn't throw it away, they threw me away!"  
  
Pansy wrenched her arm out of Draco's grasp and glared at him. "You had a choice. You could have stayed. But you had to go soft."  
  
They walked off down the corridor, leaving Draco standing alone, looking aghast and bewildered.  
  
Hermione put her head back in the carriage to find a shocked looking Harry and a stunned Ron.  
  
"Should we ask him to sit in here with us?" Hermione whispered.  
  
"Do you have a death wish?" Ron whispered back. She rolled her eyes at him and slipped out of the carriage. She wandered back a bit, he was still staring blankly down the corridor in a daze. Hermione pretended to have just come back from visiting another carriage. She turned and gave a start, as though seeing Draco for the first time.  
  
"Oh, Draco!" she said. "Are you waiting for someone?"  
  
He shook his head mutely. He looked really shaken by the fight, though he was desperately trying to bring his usual blank expression back. Hermione took pity on him, though she certainly wouldn't let it show.  
  
"Come and sit with us then!" she offered. He followed her into the cabin and sat down.  
  
Harry and Ron tried to smooth everything over by offering Draco some of the sweets they'd bought earlier. He took some chocolate and Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans and ate them, even though he really wasn't hungry.  
  
Hannah came to the door. "Hermione! Thank God I found you, Susan and I really need your help with this translation, can you come with me?"  
  
Hermione shrugged apologetically to the boys and left with Hannah. Ron, Harry and Draco looked at each other awkwardly. Luckily for Ron, another knock came at the door. Dean wanted Ron for a game of chess. He invited Harry as well, but Harry declined, thinking it would be rude to leave Draco by himself.  
  
So Ron nicked off gratefully, leaving Harry and Draco behind.  
  
Draco looked at the floor. "You heard them, didn't you?"  
  
Harry tried to play dumb. "Heard who?"  
  
Draco gave him a withering look, and Harry relented. "If you mean Pansy and them, then yes. I did hear them."  
  
Draco nodded slowly. "So now you know why I was there, don't you?"  
  
Harry frowned. "Not really."  
  
Draco rolled his eyes. "I got kicked out of home and disowned because I didn't want to be a Death Eater." Saying it all in one breath made it more manageable for Draco to deal with it.  
  
Harry arched a brow. "Really?" Draco nodded. Harry's other brow went up to meet the first. "Wow. And I thought living with the Dursleys was bad."  
  
Draco looked at him. "Who are the Dursleys?"  
  
Harry sighed. "They're my aunt and uncle, the only living relatives I have. They hate me and wish I'd never plagued their existence, but tolerate me because they're afraid of what the wizards will do to them if they don't."  
  
Draco watched his face with interest. "Do they treat you badly?"  
  
Harry shrugged it off. "They used to. They don't dare anymore."  
  
"What kinda things would they do?" Draco found it fascinating to talk about someone else for a change. He'd been being pressed for information the past two days and it was refreshing to do the questioning for once.  
  
Harry paused for a moment, remembering. "Nothing too awful, they didn't like to feed me much, and whenever something went wrong, they'd lock me in my bedroom." He looked at Draco. "My bedroom was the little cupboard beneath the stairs."  
  
Draco's eyebrows shot up. "Really?"  
  
Harry nodded. "Yep. Bit cramped really."  
  
Draco found himself not feeling as bad now, he at least had had a good existence up til now. He'd never really stopped to think about what had happened to Harry in his life, more just made fun of Harry for whatever he could think of.  
  
"Didn't you ever wish you'd never have to go there again?" Draco asked. He couldn't help himself, he had to know these things now. He was aware that he was being civil to the person he'd spent nearly six years being an arsehole to, but for some reason, he just didn't have the energy to be a prick today.  
  
Harry grinned. "Yeah, I used to dream that a relative would come and take me away. Someone who was related and could take me, but people had forgotten about – so it would be a surprise."  
  
Draco snorted. "That sounds like a lame fairytale thing."  
  
"I was young!" Harry defended himself.  
  
"What was your favourite fairytale?" Draco asked, regaining some of his former confidence and draping his legs over the entire seat so he was lying on his side watching Harry.  
  
Harry shrugged. "I always liked fairytales, but I didn't really get the chance to read them. Whenever I could, I'd nick into Dudley's – that's my cousin – room and steal some books. I really liked The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe."  
  
Draco frowned. "That's not really a fairytale, is it?"  
  
"Nah, but I loved it anyway. Think it had something to do with the whole me living in a cupboard thing. I used to dream I'd walk in one day and it would be like walking into Narnia."  
  
Harry felt a bit weird confessing all this to Draco, but he could see Draco was trying to build up his confidence, and he couldn't see the harm in assisting.  
  
"What about fairytales, though, like Snow White and all that?" Draco asked again.  
  
Harry thought for a moment. "I always liked Cinderella," he remembered. Draco grinned.  
  
"What, so you thought that maybe a Prince would come and fit a shoe onto you and take you away from your evil family?"  
  
Harry rolled his eyes. "Not exactly, Malfoy, but I did like the story." He settled back in bit seat, crossing his legs at the knee. "What about you then? You must have had a favourite fairy tale."  
  
Draco looked slightly embarrassed as he admitted, "Sleeping Beauty."  
  
Harry couldn't help it, he had to laugh. "Oh, do you know how many insults I could come up with now?"  
  
Draco crossed his arms. "Hey, its not as bad as Cinderella!"  
  
"No, actually, its worse." He giggled. "Sleeping Beauty is woken by a kiss from the handsome prince - how romantic."  
  
"Oh, shut up." Draco started to examine his nails, once so perfectly filed into little ovals, now chipped and ragged from his three-day venture in the wild. He made a mental note to take a nail file next time he was going outdoors alone for more than a few hours.  
  
Harry surveyed Draco. "You've changed."  
  
Draco swung his head around. "What?"  
  
"You've changed. You're not as sarcastic and not as much of a dickhead anymore."  
  
Draco smirked. "Thanks, Potter. Really appreciate the sentiments."  
  
Harry shrugged. "Dunno if you've noticed, but it's true."  
  
"Well, maybe it's just from being in your wonderful company," Draco said sarcastically.  
  
"There's the old Malfoy again."  
  
"Did you miss him?"  
  
"Not really." Harry yawned. "I'm going to sleep. Wake me when the train gets to Hogwarts."  
  
"Yes sir," muttered Draco. Harry chose to ignore this, and set about making his cloak into a pillow. He fell asleep within minutes.  
  
"Harry. Harry! HARRY!" Harry awoke to find Ron and Draco standing together in the carriage. Ron had just yelled Harry's name in an attempt to wake the sleeping boy.  
  
"Welcome back to Hogwarts," Ron said, grinning. "Sleep well?"  
  
"The train is still moving. Why am I being woken?" Harry groaned. He looked at his watch, they still had another hour left til they were scheduled to reach Hogwarts.  
  
Ron shrugged. "We got bored. We've been waiting for you to wake up naturally for about, oh, I don't know – maybe half an hour? We got tired of waiting, so we decided to help nature out."  
  
Harry threw a chocolate frog at him. "Right, well I'm awake now, so what do you want?"  
  
"Let's play a game or something – anything to pass the ride!" Ron got out the chess set. "Game, anyone?"  
  
Draco sat down to watch Harry get smashed spectacularly by Ron. It was a very exciting game, filled with lively bishops who liked to yell out obscenities to the queen who got her revenge by knocking them over with her staff when she was told to capture them.  
  
Eventually the train pulled into the Hogwarts station, and Harry smiled at the familiar sight of the lake. Once they were around the corner, they'd catch a glimpse of the castle in the early evening. It was his favourite part of returning to school.  
  
Aware that Draco was looking at him oddly, he turned and walked with the two boys towards the horse and carriage that was waiting for them to board.  
  
He hadn't wanted to mention it or make a big deal out of it, because he knew that would have made Draco uncomfortable, not to mention he wasn't too big on the whole dramatic scene thing, but it wasn't the fact that Draco had been kicked out that astounded him. He always wondered how the Malfoys could live so harmoniously, considering they were all as stuck-up and prejudiced as each other, and even though he'd known Draco was the apple of the eyes of both Lucius and Narcissa, it didn't surprise him to learn that Lucius was such a malicious toad as to throw his son out. He'd seen the nasty streak that Lucius had before, in the way he'd treated Dobby, his old house-elf, bashing him and kicking him around in an attempt to get his own rage out. It was the sort of behavior that was expected of a man who was considered one of Voldemort's closest and most loyal followers.  
  
No, it wasn't that his parents had thrown their only son and heir out as well as disowning him.  
  
It was why Draco had been thrown out. Harry was finding it an incredibly strange revelation to find that Draco did not want to be a Death Eater after all. It proved that the boy must have some decency in him somewhere. But it was strange to comprehend – sort of as if this was all some plan to fool the Order to get someone close to their side. However, Harry didn't think that was the case this time. There was sincerity in all Draco's looks, and although the Slytherin was probably an excellent liar, Dumbledore himself seemed to believe there was no harm in keeping him with the Order, and had even asked Harry and Ron to take care of him at Hogwarts.  
  
It was a very strange start to the new year.  
  
TBC  
  
A/N: Yay! Second chapter! Very proud. I know Draco isn't exactly in character, but it is sort of hard to keep him in character for something like this. He's going to be in character for another story I'm writing, and that is going to be hard enough without trying to keep him in character twice. Anyway, I'm so glad you liked it! Thank you so much to the reviewers!  
  
Please continue to read and review my story, and feel free to drop by any comments or suggestions for improvement! I'm completely open to suggestions from you all.  
  
Jadestonedreams – thanks for your review! Don't we all ;)  
  
Hp-Azn – Here's an update just for you!  
  
Rapid Typewriter – Thank you so much! I'm glad you approve, and even gladder that you like it! ( thanks!  
  
CarlyHP - And this update is for you as well. Glad you like it!  
  
Dobbiessweetie – hope you continue to like it – keep me posted on how its going!  
  
Sak – thanks, the story came to me when I was reading Cinderella again for some bizarre reason, and I just thought it would be cute. :P keep reading and find out!  
  
Conan – mate, you've got it all wrong. :P you can be unconscious in other ways than being asleep man. We will continue this conversation on Tuesday. Thanks for the review! 


	3. The Kitchen, The Closet and The Teacher

Title: Like A Fairytale  
  
Author: Stardrops  
  
Genre: Romance  
  
Rating: PG 13: Some violence and slash, precautions only.  
  
Summary: Faced with difficult decisions about his future, Draco forms some unlikely friendships. A passionate romance is sparked – but is not as secret as he supposed. Someone is stalking Draco at Hogwarts – suddenly, keeping himself and Harry safe is more complicated than he imagined.  
  
Chapter Three: The Kitchens, The Cupboards and The Teacher  
  
Waking the next morning, Draco rolled over in bed and attempted to open his eyes. Embracing the new day wasn't a hard task for Draco; he'd always liked morning and night better than the actual day.  
  
He'd found it rather awkward last night when he'd had to get to sleep, seeing as how all the other boys in Slytherin with whom he shared a room were not incredibly pleased to see him. They were convinced he'd gone over to Dumbledore's side, when in reality, nothing of the sort had happened. He'd simply not agreed to become a Death Eater.  
  
Gritting his teeth in frustration, he decided stewing over things by himself was not really the smartest move he could make. There was still one person in Hogwarts who Draco could trust with any secret – his godfather.  
  
Dressing quickly, he made his way silently out of the dormitory so as not to wake any of his sleeping classmates, and headed down the corridor from the Slytherin Common Room to the Potions Dungeons where he knew Severus Snape had a private room to himself.  
  
He didn't even need to go to the room, as he entered the Potions classroom, Severus was already awake and preparing his classes for that day. When he saw his godson enter the room, he couldn't stop a smile from spreading over his face. Striding across the room, he clapped a hand on Draco's shoulder in greeting.  
  
"Draco! What brings you here?" he said in a fatherly tone that he always used when it was he and Draco together alone.  
  
Draco smiled up at his godfather – the last remaining person on the planet, it seemed, who cared at all about what happened to him. "I – Well, I'm actually – finding it rather hard to be at Hogwarts this year," Draco stammered, realizing how hard it was for him to admit that he was friendless, disowned and homeless.  
  
Snape nodded slowly and returned to the tables where he was placing handfuls of paper, evidently the second years were going to be writing for their first class of the year.  
  
"Is this about what happened in August? Your father kicking you out?" Snape asked suddenly.  
  
Draco was taken aback. "I didn't think you knew about it."  
  
Snape snorted. "Please, Draco, don't think I didn't see you at Grimmauld Place. I spent time watching you when you were unconscious, and I knew from Lucius, he told me the day after that you'd been thrown out and disowned."  
  
Draco frowned indignantly. "You spy on me?"  
  
Snape considered this. "No, I make good use of my contacts." He abruptly changed his tone to a more businesslike one. "Now, I know you didn't come here to talk about how I know what you're up to. What is bothering you exactly?"  
  
Draco looked down at the floor. "Well, it's nothing you or anyone can fix really – but it would be helpful to talk to someone about it."  
  
Snape nodded again. "And the problem is?"  
  
Draco looked slightly embarrassed. "The entire Slytherin house hates me. I am now a complete social pariah."  
  
Snape sank into a chair and beckoned to Draco to follow suit. When they were comfortably seated, Snape leaned forward to talk more softly.  
  
"Draco, you cannot expect them to welcome you back when they think that you have betrayed their side. You must work your way back into their trust if you want to be one of them again. I don't believe you completely renounced your allegiance to the Dark Lord, am I right?"  
  
Draco nodded. "I never said that I wouldn't be happy to be on their side, I just told him that I did not want to become a Death Eater at the present time."  
  
Snape leaned back thoughtfully. "I can try talking to the Slytherin house as a group and try to get them to accept you again."  
  
Draco shook his head abruptly. "That's just going to make me seem cowardly and pathetic, having run to a teacher because my friends hate me."  
  
"Well, the only other thing I can suggest is for you to go to them and talk it through. You may yet salvage some friendships."  
  
Draco nodded. "Right."  
  
Snape rose from the chair and clapped Draco's shoulder again. "I think it's time for breakfast, and then I shall see you second period, correct?"  
  
Draco nodded again, and upon receiving a smile and wave from his beloved godfather, he left the dungeons to go back to the common room.  
  
Pansy Parkinson was sitting alone on a couch, curled with her feet beneath her, reading a magazine with a handsome man on the front. Draco spotted her, and, since she was such an influential member of the house, he decided it would be a good idea to start with her.  
  
"Parkinson?" he said, sitting down with her. She looked at him briefly over the top of her magazine and then lifted it to block him from her view.  
  
"If you've come to try and weasel your way back into my graces, you may as well not bother," she said, turning the page and lifting a quill to do a quiz.  
  
Draco snatched the magazine and quill from her and placed them on the table out of her reach. She looked at him, annoyed. "What are you doing?"  
  
"I'm trying to make you pay attention." Draco sat forward on the couch. "Just listen to me, all right?"  
  
She huffed and sighed in a very putout manner, but stayed seated.  
  
"Look, you know I've always considered you the best friend I had out of the Slytherin house, right?"  
  
This caught Pansy's attention. "What? I thought you and Crabbe and Goyle were the inseparable three?"  
  
Draco smirked. "Yeah, but they're not beautiful and brainy."  
  
Pansy had the humility to blush and smile at him then. Realizing she was giving into him, she quickly changed her tune.  
  
"Don't think flattery and flirting is going to change my opinion of you."  
  
"Why did you change your opinion of me in the first place?" Draco asked, leaning back with a bit of his old arrogance, sensing weakness in her resolve.  
  
She looked up at him questioningly. "Are you really that thick?" she asked incredulously. "You know why, we told you on the train."  
  
"You decided to hate me because my father took something I said the wrong way?"  
  
Pansy felt her determination weakening further. "Well – it wasn't just that, it was because you said you didn't want to be one of us."  
  
Draco raised an eyebrow. "One of you? You're not a Death Eater yet anyway, and you won't be for a while because I'm the oldest out of nearly everyone in the Slytherin house seventh years. Besides which, how can you say I refused to be one of you when I never refused anything except to be marked right away?"  
  
Pansy pointed her finger at him. "There, see? You did refuse to become one of us!"  
  
"But not forever!" Draco pointed out. "I only said I didn't want to do it right away."  
  
Pansy considered this for a long moment. Gruffly, she replied, "I suppose..."  
  
"Besides, you always loved me more than to chuck me because of something a pathetic adult said, right?"  
  
Pansy's resolve disappeared completely. "Yeah, I guess. Sorry Draco. I'll talk to the others for you if you like."  
  
He patted her thigh in appreciation and handed her magazine back with her quill on top. "See you later then?"  
  
"Yeah, okay."  
  
By breakfast time, most of the Slytherins were back on Draco's side. He had regained his position as their Prince, and after recounting his tale of the three days he'd been out in the wild; he was also regarded as somewhat of a hero. He did, however, tend to glass over the part of the tale that involved Harry Potter, as he realized that would not earn him credibility to have been with them. He told them only that he was found by Dumbledore who nursed him back to health, which was, in reality, sort of true.  
  
On his way to his first class, he found himself walking alone for the first time since the morning. He'd had his old group of followers around him since then, but for some reason, they'd all gone back to the common room for a while.  
  
"Draco!"  
  
Someone was calling his name. He turned to see Hermione running towards him.  
  
"Draco, what's happened? Everyone is singing your praises again. You must have done something great!"  
  
Draco smirked. "Yeah, I'm back to where I was before. Eternally grateful for your help, too. Muchly appreciated. I'll see you around, I guess."  
  
Hermione frowned. "And just like that, you're going to dismiss us?"  
  
Draco thought for a moment. "I believe so. Pass my thanks along to Potter and Weasley, and remind them that I shan't need their help again. Thanks, Granger."  
  
He continued along his way, leaving a confused but fuming Hermione behind him.  
  
Hermione had evidently passed on the message already to Ron and Harry by the time Potions began, because he'd received a killer glare from Ron as soon as he entered the room. Harry had simply looked at him and then looked away, and Hermione shook her head as if she thought he was being a typical male prat.  
  
Severus Snape looked up when Draco entered, watching. Pansy, Crabbe and Goyle had saved him a seat at their bench of four, and as he went to sit down, he caught a wink from his godfather. He acknowledged him with a grin, and sat.  
  
The lesson went quickly, and when it finished, Draco went to put away some of the ingredients they'd not completely used. He turned to see a very angry looking Ron Weasley standing behind him.  
  
"You are an arsehole."  
  
Draco blinked, rather amused. "I beg your pardon?"  
  
"You used Hermione and Harry. You made them feel sorry for you and all the time you were playing on their sympathy so you wouldn't look like a loner for the short time it took to get your old friends back."  
  
Draco paused and then nodded. "And?"  
  
"I swear to god, if you ever come near them again, or me, I will hurt you. I will not hesitate to bash the crap through you. Especially if you use or hurt one of them. I will kill you."  
  
Draco grinned. "Ooooh, I'm really frightened now. Weasel threats. Watch me tremble."  
  
He threw a smirk in Ron's direction before exiting.  
  
At dinner that night, he sat between Crabbe and Goyle once again. Everyone seemed eager to please him, as though they wanted to work their way back into his good books after treating him like a recluse for the previous day. Draco, of course, sat back casually, graciously accepting all apologies and flirting with all the girls. It was surprisingly easy to get back into his post as the Prince of Slytherin in this situation, considering they'd been so bitchy the day before. Then, he supposed, Slytherins weren't particularly brainy.  
  
But every time someone said something about how brave he was for surviving being thrown out and everything, he couldn't help thinking about Harry. Harry had told him what he'd been through, and it made Draco seem like a spoiled, pampered child. Which, he supposed, he had been.  
  
He brushed this thought from his mind, and continued to accept compliments from his fellow housemates.  
  
It wasn't until he'd gone to bed that night that he thought again about Harry. He couldn't believe that he was feeling – possibly – guilty about what he'd done. Harry and Hermione hadn't done anything bad to him since he'd shown up – instead, they had helped him. Ron was another story; he could tell Ron was only being nice for the sake of Harry and Hermione. He shook his head, trying to clear it, but couldn't get to sleep anyway. He got up and decided to go for a walk around the colder parts of the castle.  
  
He drew on his cloak and slippers, running fingers through his messy hair. His striped pajamas were not the most fashionable items he'd ever worn, but then, it was night and everyone was asleep, so it wouldn't matter.  
  
He left the common room, padding as silently as a fox. Wandering the corridors at night was one of his favourite pastimes, and although he frequently ran into Filch and Mrs Norris, since he was one of Filch's favourites, he could get away with not being in bed.  
  
He made his way towards the Great Hall, he was a little peckish and thought he might try to get into the kitchens. He knew there was a secret way, but he'd not yet figured out how to enter.  
  
The passage was easy to find, the pictures were very unique – of food, obviously. He wandered here and then, lifting portraits to find the hidden door, but to no avail. It was very well hidden.  
  
A soft patter brought Draco back to earth. He froze, thinking one of the teachers had heard him, and was preparing to run, but a shadow began to creep down the passage, nearly as softly as he'd done. The shadow was magnified by the moonlight, but Draco could see it belonged to a small person, probably a student. It was too small to be any of the teachers, and too tall to be Professor Flitwick.  
  
The shadow moved closer. It came into full view and Draco stifled a groan. The last person he wanted to see.  
  
"Potter."  
  
Harry started, it was clear he'd not seen Draco lurking in the shadows. He nodded in greeting. "What are you doing here?" he asked.  
  
Draco rolled his eyes. "Lurking for no apparent reason."  
  
Harry gave a sarcastic smile. "Ha. Ha. Ha. Seriously, what are you doing?"  
  
"I could ask you the same question. And – better yet – why are you carrying that crumpled old parchment?"  
  
Harry was clutching the Marauders Map – his secret weapon. He quickly hid it in his cloak pocket. "I'm going to the kitchens to get some food."  
  
"Ah."  
  
"And you?"  
  
"Well.........yeah, the same."  
  
Harry cocked his head. "Right, well – you first."  
  
Draco thought fast. "Why, don't you know how to get into the kitchens?"  
  
"Of course I do. Don't you?"  
  
Draco snorted. "I'm a Malfoy. Of course I know."  
  
"Then show me."  
  
"Ha! Knew it! You don't know." Of course, Draco knew perfectly well that Harry did know how to get into the kitchens, because rumours were constantly going around that Harry and Dobby paid each other regular visits. He just did not want to lose face in front of the Gryffindor Head Boy.  
  
Harry pulled himself up to full height, which, Draco noticed, was exactly the same as his own.  
  
"You've grown."  
  
"Well, duh. I wasn't going to stay the shrimpy height I always was, right?"  
  
Draco resisted the urge to retort. "Go on, then, if you know how to get into the kitchens, show me."  
  
Harry sighed and stepped up to a painting of a fruit bowl. Draco watched carefully as Harry tickled the pear which wriggled and chuckled before disappearing. In its place, a green handle appeared and Harry used it to swing the portrait forward in the manner of a door. Draco nodded. "I take it back. You do know how."  
  
Harry stepped into the kitchens first. Dobby the house elf came running up to greet him, but stopped short at the sight of Draco. Throwing himself onto the floor, Dobby stammered, "M-m-master! S-so good to s-s-see you."  
  
Harry looked at Draco who was staring at the house elf with an indescribable expression. "I'm not your master anymore, Dobby." Draco looked awkwardly at the kitchens. "But I am hungry."  
  
Dobby jumped to his feet eagerly. Several other house elves jumped to help as well.  
  
"Certainly. What would Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy like?"  
  
Harry was led off to an enormous refrigerator by about two dozen elves which Draco was escorted by Dobby and another twenty elves towards the biggest oven he'd ever seen in his life.  
  
"This is our fresh baking, Master Malfoy," Dobby squeaked. "P-please, take anything!"  
  
Draco nodded at the house elf and took a croissant and some deliciously flaky pastries from a huge tray sitting atop the hotplates.  
  
He turned to see Harry walking towards the door, laden with cakes and pastries as well. He was startled to feel elf hands pushing against his back suddenly. "Quick! Quick!" they squeaked. Dobby ran around to the front. "You and Harry Potter must leave, Master Malfoy!" Dobby whispered urgently. "Professor McGonagall is coming!"  
  
Harry's face was panicked, and he was clutching the parchment again, staring at the writing and lines drawn all over it. "Why the bloody hell didn't I bring my cloak?" he whispered furiously to himself.  
  
Meanwhile Draco turned to the elves. "You can't just throw us out," he hissed. "Dobby! Is there a room or cupboard or something we can hide in?"  
  
Dobby jumped at the fierce tone of Draco's voice, and immediately nodded as fast as he could. "Yes! Yes! Please, hurry! It's this way!"  
  
He and Harry were pulled off towards the storeroom at the other end of the gigantic kitchen. Draco grabbed a scrumptious looking scone off a chopping board where it was being spread with jam as he went.  
  
The elves showed them into a tall, narrow, empty closet. Harry looked at it in despair. "There's not room for the both of us."  
  
Dobby's eyes widened at the sound of another person entering the kitchen. "Quickly!" he moaned.  
  
Draco gave Harry a huge shove so Harry was forced into the closet, and Draco quickly followed. The elves shut the door and locked it, then scuttled off. They could be heard in the other room, running about nervously to serve the Professor.  
  
In the closet, it was an extremely tight fit. Harry's back was crushed up against the wall, and his shoulder smushed into a corner. Draco was no better off, his foot was uncomfortably jammed at an angle between the door and the wall, and there was no where to move it.  
  
"Well, this kinda sucks," Draco muttered.  
  
"Shut up, Malfoy."  
  
"Your elbow is dangerously close to my eye. Would you like to move it?" Draco asked.  
  
"If I could, I would. And I would ask you to move your knee because it is sticking into my thigh, but I know you can't move it anywhere else."  
  
"True."  
  
There was a silence in the closet. It sounded like Minerva was having supper in the kitchen instead of taking it out. By the relaxation of the elves they could hear, it sounded like a regular occurrence.  
  
"How long do you think she'll be here?" breathed Harry. Draco felt Harry's warm breath on his shoulder.  
  
"Probably a while," he answered, trying to move. He was deeply uncomfortable being so close to Harry.  
  
"Ouch! Shit, Malfoy, keep still will you?"  
  
"Sorry," muttered Draco.  
  
There was another short silence.  
  
"Look, I really can't stand your elbow there. Would you move the damn thing?"  
  
"To where? You want me to wrap my arm around your neck?"  
  
Draco exhaled impatiently. "I don't really care, I am so uncomfortable right now, and I really need to move my shoulder."  
  
"Fine. Wait one moment." The sounds of Harry struggling to move rose to Draco as he realized Harry was now crouching on the floor. The absence of contact with Harry made Draco realize just how cold it was that night.  
  
"Okay, get comfortable, cos I can't crouch for much longer."  
  
Draco obliged, and stood firmly with his hands by his side. Harry rose slowly, and with difficulty.  
  
"Dammit, do you know how hard it is to kneel in such a small place?"  
  
Draco smirked. "I have some idea, yes." Harry was now half-standing, half- crouching.  
  
"Jeez, this is good training for the quads."  
  
"The whats?"  
  
"Quads. Quadriceps. The muscles at the front of your thigh."  
  
"Ah. Of course." Draco was immeasurably more comfortable. However, Harry was fighting to keep up straight without buckling.  
  
"God, I don't think I can do this much longer."  
  
Draco sucked in his stomach. "Look, try to stand; you're making too much freaking noise. McGonagall is going to hear us."  
  
Harry slid further up the closet and relaxed. "Ahh. That's better."  
  
"Ouch! No it's not! Why has your hip rotated?"  
  
"Because the only way I can stand is directly facing you?"  
  
"Oh."  
  
Another silence. Draco's teeth were starting to chatter. It was really rather cold in the kitchens. He didn't know how house elves could stand it with their tiny cloths for clothing.  
  
Harry noticed Draco's shivering and teeth chattering. "Are you cold?"  
  
"No." Draco's tone was incredibly sarcastic.  
  
Harry shuddered too. "I think we're right next to the freezer, which is why it's so cold." He moved closer to Draco (which was hard considering they were almost completely crushed together.)  
  
"What are you doing?!" Draco yelped, feeling more and more claustrophobic by the second.  
  
"Look, its fucking cold, all right? We can share body heat and conserve heat by being closer together."  
  
"I want my own body heat thank you. Bugger off."  
  
"Get a life, Malfoy."  
  
"Fine." He hated to admit it, but Harry was right, with his torso right next to Harry's, he was feeling warmer.  
  
"How much longer is that woman going to take?" he grumbled, not liking to seem like he was enjoying being in such close contact with his sworn enemy.  
  
"Probably not too much longer."  
  
"Ouch!" Draco yelped again. "You just scratched me!"  
  
"Shhh," Harry said suddenly. Draco froze. "Shit, can you hear something?"  
  
Footsteps were heading into the kitchen's storeroom. Heavy footsteps. Too heavy to be an elf's.  
  
"Oh, holy shit," breathed Harry, almost inaudibly.  
  
A key was turning in the lock, and the door swung open. Draco tumbled out and Harry landed on top of him. Towering over them was the intimidating figure of Professor McGonagall.  
  
"Good morning, Potter and Malfoy."  
  
"G-good morning?" Malfoy tried.  
  
"I hope you have extremely good reasons for being out of bed at three in the morning on a school night, in the kitchens, hiding together in an extremely small closet."  
  
"Er – well – about that........."  
  
Professor McGonagall glared at them both. "I thought not." She pulled them both to their feet. "I shall see you both at eight o'clock sharp for detention every night this week."  
  
"Every – wait, what about Quidditch practise?" said Harry, horrified.  
  
"You should have thought of that. Now you'll be getting up extra early to practise instead. I expected better from the Head Boy, Potter."  
  
She took the pair of them out to the hall and said, "Both of you get back to bed immediately. If I find you've been gallivanting around the school further tonight – or any night, for that matter, you'll receive a lot worse than detention."  
  
TBC  
  
A/N: Okay. That was really random. That did not actually come up in any of my chapter plans, but it sorta makes more sense than what I'd originally planned. Well, hope everyone enjoyed, please continue to read and review it! It really makes my day to read your comments about my story, so please comment!  
  
Thank you so incredibly much to everyone who has reviewed, you have no idea how wonderful you all are. Your comments mean so much to me, and they really keep me going. And special thanks to Cat Mint, who reviewed both chapters of this story, and several chapters of other stories!  
  
Also thanks to:  
  
Katfay: thank you. I think its interesting! I hope you like how it turns out.  
  
Yuki Kurai: Oooh! Thank you! I like compliments! :D  
  
Marsky: Here, this is for you hands Marsky a new chapter and a pretty sparkly thing for his/her wonderful review thank you so much for your comment!  
  
Hp Azn: Well, thank you! Glad you like it! Please keep reading, stick with me! 


	4. The Detention

Title: Like A Fairytale  
  
Author: Stardrops  
  
Genre: Romance  
  
Rating: PG 13: Some violence and slash, precautions only.  
  
Summary: Faced with difficult decisions about his future, Draco forms some unlikely friendships. A passionate romance is sparked – but is not as secret as he supposed. Someone is stalking Draco at Hogwarts – suddenly, keeping himself and Harry safe is more complicated than he imagined.  
  
A/N: I had to change the summary, because I created a chapter plan for this and the summary is actually leaving out a lot of what is going to be a central theme, so I had to change it. Please still keep reading the story!  
  
Chapter Four: The Detention  
  
Harry Potter was not a happy person that night. Not only was he grumpy and tired, he was not looking forward to spending time alone with Draco Malfoy.  
  
"And it was all Malfoy's fault, too. If he hadn't yelped, McGonagall would never have known. Jerk."  
  
Hermione patted Harry on the back in a reassuring manner. "I'm sure it won't be that bad, Harry. I mean, it's only for a few hours, right? You don't have to say anything to him, I'm sure."  
  
"He's right, though, Malfoy is a prick. What was he doing at the kitchens anyway?"  
  
"The same thing as Harry was? Trying to get food at three in the morning?"  
  
"I'm surprised you didn't punch him out, Harry. He's a real prat, I would've knocked him flat."  
  
"I was sorely tempted," Harry admitted.  
  
"Harry! You're Head Boy, you can't go fighting - " Hermione began, but was interrupted by Ron.  
  
"Oh, give him a break, Hermione. He didn't touch Malfoy, he's got self- restraint. More than Malfoy deserves, though," Ron said darkly.  
  
Harry sighed. "I should go. We're supposed to be there at eight."  
  
"Aren't you going to eat?" Ron asked in concern.  
  
"Nah, I'll be fine," Harry said bracingly. He left the common room and a bickering Hermione and Ron behind him as he walked to the Transfiguration rooms.  
  
Draco was already there when he arrived, and McGonagall followed soon after. She did not open the door, but led them down the corridor, back through the Entrance Hall and into the Hogwarts Grounds. Her cloak billowed out behind her as Harry and Draco scrambled to keep up.  
  
She stopped outside Hagrid's cottage and knocked. Hagrid's head popped into the window for a moment, then the door unlocked.  
  
"Hullo, Professor McGonagall!" he exclaimed. She nodded in greeting and gestured towards the two boys.  
  
"Potter and Malfoy are here to serve their detention with you. Can you make sure they're back in the castle by midnight?"  
  
Hagrid nodded and gestured to the two boys to join him around the back. They followed him, Harry could feel Draco's eyes glaring at him. Serving detention with Hagrid was nothing bad for Harry, but Hagrid didn't even like Draco, so it would be nothing short of torture.  
  
"Right, here you go." Hagrid handed each of the boys a strange net on a stick with a spike protruding from the centre of the net. He also passed them some still wriggling worms – to hold in their bare hands. Draco shuddered as the wet, squirmy creatures were placed in his hand.  
  
"Er – Hagrid?" Harry said timidly. "What exactly are we supposed to do with these?" He didn't look any more delighted than Draco felt to have the slimy worms on his bare skin.  
  
"I'm about to get to that." He pulled his own worms out of the bucket and placed them into the net. "Right, stick em into the net, and follow me."  
  
Draco hastily dropped his into his net, thankful beyond all belief to be rid of the clammy, writhing worms. Harry followed suit, wiping his hand on his cloak afterwards.  
  
Hagrid was already walking up front, heading for the lake. Harry hasted to catch up with him. "Where are we going?"  
  
"To the lake. See, we've got some bloody good Kriskanthas out back of the cottage for the second years to look after, but they've got a nasty bug at the moment. The only thing that'll rid them of it is this particular fish we can get out of the lake."  
  
"And we're fishing? That's our detention?" Harry asked.  
  
"Yep. Now, what are you doing in detention again, Harry? I thought you were going to behave yourself this year, since you're Head Boy and all." Hagrid beamed down at him with proud eyes.  
  
Harry squirmed a little. "Well, that was the general plan, to keep out of trouble, but if this git," he nodded to Malfoy, "hadn't squealed, we wouldn't have been in trouble."  
  
"Ah, but you were outta bed, weren't you?" Hagrid said, winking. "Never mind, though, yer father got in a lot worse trouble than you for sneaking around with Lily."  
  
Harry would have liked to have asked Hagrid more about his father, but at that point, the three of them reached the lake.  
  
"Hagrid – what's that?" Draco asked suddenly.  
  
The other two looked to where he pointed. It was hard to see because the night was dark – the clouds kept masking the moon, cutting off their only source of light. They could just make out the figure of little shimmering specks flinging themselves in and out of the water in the manner of dolphins.  
  
"Them? They're just Flippersnatchers. They love to play at night, never come out during the day. Beautiful creatures, though, aren't they." Hagrid stared dreamily at them for a moment and then shook himself. "Right. Dump your nets in the water and hold onto the end. You wait until you feel the net jerk, then you pull it out of the water. We got plenty of worms, so don't worry if you lose some."  
  
Draco shuddered. This was likely to be an extremely horrid detention.  
  
They'd only been fishing for a little while, but Hagrid was staring at the moon when he heard a wail come from the Forest. All three of them stopped and stared, completely motionless. The wail came again – it sounded very human.  
  
"It's probably a centaur, but I should go check anyway," Hagrid said, and left his net sitting on the ground. "Look after me net, will ya, Malfoy?"  
  
Hagrid soon disappeared into the darkness of the Forbidden Forest, and Draco was left sitting on the bank of the lake with Harry, holding his own net and watching Hagrid's.  
  
"This is a really weird detention." Harry's voice was quiet, but the night was so still, it rang out like a church bell.  
  
"Fishing isn't such a bad sport," Draco said. "It's kinda relaxing."  
  
Harry cocked his head. "You call fishing a sport?"  
  
Draco flushed, though Harry couldn't see it through the dark. "It is a sport. It is classed as a sport."  
  
"How odd."  
  
They were silent for a moment, and then the moon came out from behind its cloud. Draco peered at the net beside him to check, and to his surprise, he saw it moving steadily away from him.  
  
"Jeez, there's something in the bloody net!" he said in surprise. He leapt to his feet to run forward and stop it, but overbalanced and fell with an enormous splash into the lake.  
  
He surfaced, gasping. It was autumn, but the water was surprisingly freezing. "Oh god. That's fucking cold."  
  
Harry could barely speak for laughing. He reached out his hand to help Draco up, but Draco lost his footing on the bank and fell back in.  
  
Hagrid came out at that moment, and hearing Harry's laughter, looked around. "Where's Malfoy?"  
  
Harry couldn't speak, he simply pointed into the water. The reflection of the moonlight was spoiled by the ripples made by Draco thrashing around. Hagrid couldn't help himself, he had to laugh as well.  
  
Eventually, when Draco yelped that there were things nibbling at his toes, Harry held out his hand again. Draco took it and was hoisted out of the water. He sat, shivering, on the bank as Hagrid collected the nets, still chuckling madly.  
  
"That wasn't very productive, fishing-wise, but entertainment-wise, it was gold."  
  
Draco glared. "Shut up, Potter." His teeth were chattering.  
  
"Oh, come on Draco, it's not that cold," Harry scoffed.  
  
"Yeah? You wanna test the water?"  
  
Hagrid took them both back to his cottage. "Here, Malfoy, I'll get you something hot to drink. Harry, find him a blanket or something will you?"  
  
Harry obliged, and Draco sank into a wooden chair in the kitchen. Hagrid handed him a hot drink. "You should take off your shirt, Malfoy, and dry it over the fire."  
  
Draco looked at him.  
  
"Well, what are you waiting for? We're not perverted, but you'll freeze to death if you wear wet clothes. Would you rather be cold and wet or dry and warm?"  
  
This was a good point, so Draco removed his shirt and handed it to Hagrid, who set it over the nifty clothes line over the fireplace. Harry came out of the bedroom with a red blanket, which he draped over Draco's shoulders.  
  
"Better?" he asked Draco. He nodded ever so slightly, staring into the fire, clutching a mug in his fingers.  
  
Hagrid looked around. "Look, there was a fight in the forest; a Centaur was attacked by a Bowtruckle – bloody fierce creatures when they want to be. I'm gonna go check that he's okay and then I'll be back, okay?" He left the cottage.  
  
Draco set the mug down abruptly on the table. "How long have we got?"  
  
Harry looked at his wizard watch, a gift from Hermione the previous year. "It's only eleven thirty – we haven't been here long."  
  
Draco went to sit on the floor, using the blanket as a towel beneath his soaked trousers. His cloak and shirt were still hanging up, and Harry was left staring at the clear, white skin on Draco's back - creamy, unblemished and smooth. It was eerie to see Draco in this light – his blonde hair was given a silver halo from the firelight in front of him.  
  
Draco turned around. "What are you staring at?"  
  
Harry shook himself. "Nothing."  
  
Draco rolled his eyes. "You can come sit down instead of standing there looking like an awkward school-girl."  
  
Harry went over and sat beside Draco on the rug in front of the fire. There was a rather wet patch on the floor from where Draco's trousers were leaking everywhere, but Draco hadn't seemed to notice, and Harry was sure Hagrid wouldn't really care.  
  
"So what's the deal with Granger and Weasley?" Draco asked.  
  
Harry blinked. "What?"  
  
"You know – your friends? Granger and Weasley? What's the deal with them? Are they an item yet or what?"  
  
Harry blinked again. "Since when did you care about my friends?"  
  
"I don't, but we can't sit here in silence til Hagrid gets back. Let's have some conversation, no matter how lame and boring it is."  
  
Harry narrowed his eyes. "They're not lame and boring."  
  
"They are to me. Anyway, come on, answer the question."  
  
"No, they're not an item yet, but they probably will be soon."  
  
Draco nodded. "They're always flirting, it's amazing they've gone this long without getting it together." He nodded at Harry. "What about you? You haven't got a girlfriend."  
  
Harry frowned. "How do you know that?"  
  
Draco smirked. "Harry, come on. Just because I'm in Slytherin doesn't mean Slytherins are immune to the gossip. We'd know by now if you had a new girlfriend."  
  
Harry shrugged. "No. I don't have a girlfriend."  
  
Draco looked at him. "Fancy anyone?"  
  
Harry threw him a withering glance. "If I did, do you really think I would tell you? Draco Malfoy – Prince of Slytherin?"  
  
Draco thought for a moment. "Good point. But anyway, I can tell by your expression. You don't fancy anyone at the moment, do you?"  
  
Harry resigned. "No." There was silence for a moment. "You?"  
  
"Not really."  
  
"What about Pansy?"  
  
"Parkinson?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Oh, please. She's nice and all, but – ergh. No. Not happening."  
  
"You two went to the Ball in fourth year and sixth year together."  
  
"I'm touched you noticed. Anyway, that's exactly how I know she's never going to be a proper girlfriend of mine. Kissing her is like kissing a leech."  
  
Harry reeled. "Ugh. Too much information."  
  
"Well, it's true."  
  
"Wait – you kissed her?"  
  
"Duh. You go to the Ball with someone, you kinda expect to snog them eventually. It's polite, and it's what you do anyway."  
  
"Oh. I just couldn't imagine anyone wanting to kiss her."  
  
"No – I don't think anyone really does." He paused for a moment. "You ever been with Granger?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"You and Granger, have you ever been an item?"  
  
Harry smiled. "Completely platonic relationship there, Malfoy. She's Ron's crush, not mine."  
  
"Have you ever kissed her?"  
  
"Malfoy, do you ever listen? NO. She's my best friend, anyway."  
  
"Have you ever kissed anyone?"  
  
"Excuse me?"  
  
"Have you ever kissed someone?"  
  
Harry was taken aback. "I heard what you said; I'm just bewildered as to why on earth you would want to know."  
  
"Well, I'm bored, and besides, if you haven't, I can laugh at you."  
  
Harry exhaled. "Yes, I have kissed and been kissed before."  
  
"Who?"  
  
"Cho, Parvati, Lavender, Susan, Katie, Hannah........." he ticked them off on his fingers as he went.  
  
Draco's mouth dropped open. "You kissed Katie? As in Katie – the chick on your Quidditch team who graduated?"  
  
"Yeah, so?'  
  
"How on earth did you manage that? I thought she was way out of your reach. She's – well – pretty, and smart, and just...how did you manage that?"  
  
"End of match Quidditch parties, we had one two years ago and she kissed me. It was a completely drunken moment, nothing romantic about it."  
  
"Hmph."  
  
Harry studied Draco for a moment. His grey eyes were alight with the reflections of the fire, the flames seemed to be coming from Draco's eyes rather than to them. He'd pulled the ends of the blanket up, covering his back. Harry smirked.  
  
"Red is a good colour for you."  
  
"What?" Draco snapped.  
  
Harry grinned. "You look good in red."  
  
Draco raised an eyebrow witheringly. "Give me a break. I'm cold."  
  
"Yeah, yeah."  
  
Draco got up from the floor, leaving a little pool of water. He reached for his shirt, and pulled it on. Harry was once again captivated by the clear, white skin before it was covered by the olive green shirt.  
  
"Why do you dress in such dull colours anyway?" Harry asked, rather wanting to see the pure skin again. His own was tanned from endless Quidditch practice and working in the hot sun during the summer holidays, but though Draco seemed to spend nearly as much time playing Quidditch as he did, his skin looked as though it had never seen sunlight.  
  
"Green is not a dull colour."  
  
"That green is. You should wear blue and red and bright colours."  
  
"Why?"  
  
Harry shrugged. "Just suit you better."  
  
"According to you. Great. Just what I always wanted, fashion advice from Harry Potter."  
  
Hagrid came back in at that moment, and sighed. "Bloody Bowtruckles. Something touches their trees, and they attack like there's no damn tomorrow. Well, come on. I promised your teacher you'd be back by midnight, and its past midnight already. Ready, Malfoy, Harry?"  
  
The two boys followed Hagrid out and into the cold Hogwarts grounds. Passing through the Entrance Hall, Hagrid left them with a nod to Draco and a friendly pat on the back which was more like a thump that half winded Harry.  
  
Draco turned off into the Slytherin corridors to walk to the common room, and Harry left in the opposite direction to get back to the Gryffindor common room. He climbed through the portrait hole and found Hermione and Ron waiting up for him. He smiled at them.  
  
"Hey, guys! What are you doing still up?"  
  
"Waiting for you. We felt so bad about you having to do detention with Ferret that we decided the least we could do was wait up for you." Ron's eyes were tired and he looked like he was fighting off huge waves of sleep. Hermione looked hardly different at all.  
  
Harry was deeply appreciative. "Well, thanks guys. Come on, you look like you're going to fall asleep right then and there if you don't move. Let's go."  
  
Ron and Harry farewelled Hermione at the top of their staircase and watched her enter the girls dormitories, yawning. Then the pair continued on their way. "So, what was it like?" Ron asked, desperately trying to keep his eyes open.  
  
Harry grinned. "Malfoy fell into the river."  
  
Ron's eyes grew wide as he let a bark of laughter escape. "Really? Ha!" He danced around for a moment. "Wet Ferret!"  
  
Harry laughed, and then they were forced to shut up by Seamus, who threatened to hex them both if they didn't let him sleep.  
  
"Honestly, its only one in the morning." But this had no effect on the livid Gryffindor, whose snores were filling the room again.  
  
Ron got into bed and was asleep within moments, but Harry lay there again, thinking. Thinking about little things, such as how angelic Draco had looked in front of the fire, his hair mussed up and half dried by the warmth in the cabin – his beautiful, pale epidermis spreading so smoothly over his entire body.  
  
Harry's eyes shot open. What the hell was he doing? He was thinking about Draco Malfoy in a complimentary way. What the? That was insane. Malfoy was his sworn enemy. He did not like anything about the Slytherin, least of all his silvery blonde hair and the way he looked shirtless in golden firelight. Ugh. He was going to forbid himself from thinking about it ever again.  
  
TBC  
  
A/N: Okay! Chapter Four up. Very proud. Hope this is good enough for everyone, I welcome any comments and suggestions for improvement. Give me ideas and I will try to incorporate them in. Anything! Just review so I know how it's going.  
  
Thank you so incredibly much to everyone who has reviewed, you have no idea how wonderful you all are. Your comments mean so much to me, and they really keep me going. And special thanks to Cat Mint, who reviewed both chapters of this story, and several chapters of other stories!  
  
Please keep reading and I hope you enjoy what I have done so far.  
  
Malfoy's Kitten: your wish is my command! Hope you like it.  
  
Piper13: hehehe that's cute. ;) glad you like it, here's your update!  
  
Yuki Kurai: oh, thanks! Thanks for sticking with me, im glad you still like it!  
  
Moonlightblossom: aren't they just? I loved writing that! Anyways, im sorri they got caught. But they had to – I needed them to be in detention together, and that was a cute way to bring it about. Hope you still enjoy the story! Keep reading, we'll have maaaaaany cute Draco/Harry scenes later on! Promise!  
  
Kristie: Thank you! I'm so glad you think that! Please keep reading!  
  
Druggo Frog: Thanks, Brendan! I'm so glad to get male perspective, its great you like it! I sent you guys chapter 5 and 6, so keep me posted on how im doing! And besides, whats wrong with Katie? :P Thanks again!  
  
KatFay: Thanks for sticking with me! That's really funny, too, she's supposed to have some sort of sixth sense and figure it out by Harry's attitude changes. You're very observant!  
  
Hp Freakout: Thanks for your review – both of them! Yes, it's interesting how Harry and them find him – sort of predictable, but what can we do? :P Hope you like it anyway! 


	5. A Beginning Attraction

Title: Like A Fairytale  
  
Author: Stardrops  
  
Genre: Romance  
  
Rating: PG 13: Some violence and slash, precautions only.  
  
Summary: Faced with difficult decisions about his future, Draco forms some unlikely friendships. A passionate romance is sparked – but is not as secret as he supposed. Someone is stalking Draco at Hogwarts – suddenly, keeping himself and Harry safe is more complicated than he imagined.  
  
Chapter Five: A Beginning Attraction  
  
Morning had risen again, pale sunlight shining through the open window onto Harry's face. He rolled over in bed and groaned. It couldn't be more than six o'clock in the morning, and he was exhausted. His late night was bad enough, but he'd been plagued with interrupted sleep as he was woken by unnerving dreams at regular intervals during his slumber.  
  
Going back to sleep seemed impossible now, not only was his entire body begging to move, Neville was snoring incredibly loudly. Harry briefly considered throwing a pillow over at him, but decided at the last moment that that may not be the best plan.  
  
He drew back the curtains and padded softly out into the middle of the dormitory, smoothing his hair out of his eyes as he went. It wasn't as unmanageable now as it had been – he had grown it down past his ears and it now hung between his chin and his shoulders. It was still messy, but more attractive – at least, that was what Hermione kept insisting. Surely she ought to know. Anyway, Harry didn't really care, it was easier to cope with now – if it got too annoying, he could pull it back in a ponytail.  
  
He pulled on jeans and a shirt as quietly as possible, trying not to wake his sleeping roommates. Pulling on his cloak overtop, he exited the dormitory and went down to breakfast.  
  
Professor McGonagall was in the Entrance Hall when he entered, and looked at him as he passed her. He offered her a weak smiled, and she blanched at the sight of the dark circles beneath his eyes.  
  
"Potter, what on earth did you do last night after Hagrid brought you back?"  
  
Harry creased his brows, thinking. "I attempted to sleep."  
  
"Ah. You're up very early, it's only six thirty."  
  
Harry sighed. Why hadn't he just stayed in bed?  
  
"You saved me having to find you though, I needed to speak to both you and Malfoy, but I'm sure you can relay the message for me. You will both be doing your detentions tonight with the Potions master – and Professor Snape very much dislikes people being late, so I suggest you get there on time."  
  
"Right."  
  
Professor McGonagall gave him a curt nod and resumed walking towards the teachers staffroom down the corridor. Harry shuffled into the Great Hall, yawning. Grabbing some toast, he left the hall and went into the library. To his astonishment, Hermione was there.  
  
"Hermione?"  
  
"Harry! What on earth are you doing up this early in the morning? I thought you and Ron didn't believe in getting up before eight?"  
  
Harry yawned hugely. "Yeah, tell that to Neville."  
  
Hermione grinned sympathetically. "Snoring again?"  
  
"Yep. Like you wouldn't believe."  
  
"Well, you want to sit down and talk for a while?"  
  
"Sure, why not." Harry took a seat next to Hermione and stretched his hands over his head. Hermione spied the toast he was carrying.  
  
"You better hope Madam Pince doesn't see that. She'll throw you out if she does."  
  
Harry looked around hastily. There was nothing he wanted to avoid more than an irate librarian first thing in the morning. When he saw no one, he turned back to Hermione, taking a huge bite out of his toast.  
  
"Anyway, why are you here so early?" he asked Hermione through his enormous mouthful.  
  
"I'm doing extra research for that homework Snape gave us yesterday."  
  
"Oh, god." Harry dropped his head to the table with a clunk and rested it there. "I forgot to do that." His voice was muffled.  
  
Hermione reached out and ruffled his long hair. "Well, get started then. I'll help you if you like."  
  
"Can't I just copy off you?" Harry asked desperately.  
  
Hermione just gave him a look that said 'not in your life.' He rolled his eyes and pinched some of her parchment and a quill.  
  
They spent the next twenty minutes outlining the answers to the questions – Harry asking questions and letting Hermione do most of the work. When she at last sat up straight again, she informed him that he would have to do the rest himself.  
  
"I have to go meet Hannah; I promised her and Parvati that I would help them with their Ancient Runes translations again." She gave Harry a quick hug and left him sitting by himself at a table, half asleep.  
  
"You expect me to finish this?" he called after her halfheartedly.  
  
"You'll be fine," Hermione replied over her shoulder before disappearing.  
  
"Fine. I'll be just fine," Harry said to himself. "I'll just put my head down for a moment – not sleep or anything, just rest for a moment."  
  
He did that, but sleep claimed him at last, and he lay there breathing lightly.  
  
"Where're you going, Draco?" asked Crabbe sleepily.  
  
It was about seven in the morning, and Draco was dressed and already heading outside. "Got to get to the library, didn't get the chance to do Snape's homework questions."  
  
Crabbe simply flopped his head back down onto the pillow as a response, and Draco walked out.  
  
He decided he really wasn't hungry, and went straight to the library. He couldn't help thinking it was strange just how easily he'd gotten back into the graces of the Slytherins. It was eerie – they'd seemed really venomous when he'd seen them on the train.  
  
Shaking this thought from his head, he entered the library and headed for his favourite table at the back of the library, out of sight of anyone else entering. When he turned the corner, he noticed immediately that it was already taken. By none other than Harry Potter, in fact. Who was – Draco realized – fast asleep.  
  
He stepped quietly over and peered at the parchment littering the table. Harry was obviously in the middle of doing the same assignment as he, although it looked more like Hermione's handwriting than Harry's.  
  
Harry's hand still clutched a quill, though loosely. It rested against the knuckle of his index finger, and Draco traced his gaze slowly up Harry's cloaked arm and to his messy hair, spread untidily over the table. A lock was covering his face as well, and looked as though it might be tickling his nose. Involuntarily, Draco reached over and brushed it aside.  
  
It was strange, having any contact with Harry that was not violent. The black hair that stretched over the table was shining and silky, though not brushed. Comparing the back of his own hand to Harry's, he saw a great contrast. Harry's skin was brown and tanned; his own was pale as milk.  
  
Draco decided to seat himself next to Harry and try to steal some answers – Potions may be his best subject, but the homework was undoubtedly boring. He held a parchment in his hand, but his concentration did not last more than a few moments. His attention was drawn once again to the face of Harry, sleeping peacefully beside him.  
  
Long, curly eyelashes fringed his closed eyes, and it occurred to Draco that if the eyelids were not shielding the colour behind them, the most vivid green would be staring back up at him. Draco shuddered at the thought of Harry waking and seeing him staring – possibly even admiring Harry. Wait – admiring? That wasn't right. He didn't admire this boy. This boy was someone he'd never mixed with, never even agreed with.  
  
But still, he couldn't help wondering how Harry's complexion stayed so clear. Spoiled only by dark circles beneath his eyes, Harry's complexion was flawless and smooth. Draco reached out to touch it, but at that moment, Harry's eyes flickered open. He sat up suddenly, startled to see the Slytherin sitting beside him.  
  
"Malfoy!" he barked, slightly embarrassed.  
  
Draco's heart was pumping; he'd just gotten a shock. Imagine if he'd been tracing Harry's features when Harry woke – pure humiliation. He immediately put on his unconcerned expression – blank was the best way to go when you were feeling odd.  
  
"Tired or something, Potter?" he asked, a hint of amusement plain.  
  
"Shut up. How long have you been sitting there?"  
  
"Long enough to get some answers. Thanks a bunch, Potter." He got up to leave, but Harry remembered Professor McGonagall's words.  
  
"By the way, Malfoy, our detention tonight is with Snape – it ought to be good for you." Harry's tone was sarcastic; Draco could tell he was less than thrilled at the prospect.  
  
"Just what I always look forward to – detention with Potter. My favourite time of day." Draco took his turn to be sarcastic.  
  
"Bugger off, Malfoy." Harry turned back to his work. Draco smirked and left – as soon as he reached the corridor outside, he was relieved. What had come over him back there? He'd been – absurdly – captivated by Potter. It was ridiculous. He was probably hallucinating.  
  
Back in the library, Harry watched from beneath his long lashes as Malfoy sauntered out of the room. The blonde's hair was shimmering as it always was. Even cloaked in the unflattering school robes, Draco's figure looked perfect, slim but not unattractively skinny. Probably from all those hours of Quidditch, Harry thought. He turned his attention back to his parchment, and completed the questions, but the entire time he worked, the thought of detention that night with the Slytherin was looming in the back of his mind.  
  
"You shall be helping me the next three nights," Snape informed them. He turned and gestured to the storeroom. "If you can clean that up in three nights, you will be lucky. However, I expect it perfectly organized." He nodded them towards it. "You can leave at eleven thirty, not before."  
  
He strode back to his desk at the front of the room, leaving Harry and Draco to enter and start.  
  
Draco flicked the switch which flooded the room in a dull light. Harry blinked. The room was appalling. He'd never noticed just how untidy a room could be, but the prospect of cleaning this up was not enticing.  
  
Ingredients were spilled on the floor, jars were left open and their substances were crusted around the tops. Some were tipped over, half their contents staining the shelves. Roots and plants were scattered here and there, mixed with each other and their name tags swapped. Containers of scales and power were mixed together in odd looking combinations.  
  
Draco groaned. "This is awful."  
  
Harry did not answer, but picked up the mop and bucket of soapy water Snape had provided.  
  
"I don't understand why we can't use magic," grumbled Draco. "We'll never clean this crap off by hand."  
  
"Stop complaining and get cleaning," ordered Harry. Draco threw him a glare, but Harry continued to mop. Mopping was not having a great effect, though, and he had to get down on his knees and scrub with a wooden scrubbing brush.  
  
Draco picked up a glove and pulled it on his right hand. With his left, he picked up another brush and began to sweep the powder into the bin.  
  
Harry stood half an hour later, wiping sweat from his brow. "God, scrubbing is hard work."  
  
"What's the matter, never done a bit of cleaning before, Prince Potter?" sneered Draco.  
  
Harry gave a sarcastic smile. "Yeah, right." He remembered all the hours he'd spent cleaning at the Dursley's. "If anyone's never done cleaning before, it would be you. Draco Malfoy – King of the purebloods, with the house elves and every wizard bending over backward to please."  
  
Draco frowned. "It may be true that I don't have to clean, but don't think being a Malfoy is easy, Potter."  
  
"Oh, right. Having a family who treats you like a little Prince is just the hardest thing for anyone to experience. How can you possibly feel sorry for yourself when so many people spend half their lives trying to ensure your eternal pleasure and comfort?"  
  
"Is that really what you think?" Draco asked, amazed. "Life is not that simple for anyone, Potter," he spat. "No matter how easy you think my life might be, it's not. Just because I've never had to do housework before doesn't mean I don't have hard decisions and stuff. And what about you? You're the little Gryffindor saint who never puts a foot wrong. As if you can talk about anything like that."  
  
"Oh, please Draco. Do you seriously think I enjoy being the celebrated Potter? Being famous for something I don't even remember doing, and that I certainly did not have to exert myself. It wasn't me who defeated Voldemort, it was my mother. She was the one who placed the spell on me which defeated him. I had no part in it, and yet I am the one who gets the praise. As if I wouldn't rather have my mother and father back than be the little celebrity," he replied bitterly.  
  
"You never seem to mind it."  
  
"What am I supposed to do? Throw a tantrum and refuse to speak to anyone until they stop praising me and giving me free stuff?"  
  
"You get free stuff?"  
  
"Shut up and start cleaning." Harry was thoroughly finished with the conversation, but Draco was finding it hard to stop talking about it.  
  
"So you think I've got life easy because I don't have people hanging off me giving me free stuff? God, you're pathetic sometimes, Potter."  
  
"So you want me to pity you?"  
  
"Not really – do you want people to pity you?"  
  
"God no. There's nothing worse than having people constantly being sympathetic towards you, treating you like a tragic little hero. No, if I could hand you all the attention I get and have a normal life, believe me, I would."  
  
Draco sniffed. "So you don't want people to feel sorry for you?"  
  
"Not particularly."  
  
"You'd rather they left you alone?"  
  
"More often than not. Sometimes getting special attention is good – I mean, I never complain if I'm getting free sundaes. But when it comes to most things, I'd rather be treated like a normal person."  
  
"Well then."  
  
There was silence for a moment. Harry was biting his tongue, wishing he'd not said as much as he had. Draco was digesting this new information. Both were scrubbing halfheartedly at the shelves, Harry occasionally picking up a root and tossing it into the pile he's collected on the top shelf.  
  
"I used to envy you," Draco said suddenly.  
  
Harry arched a brow. "You did? Why?"  
  
Draco shrugged. "You were the beloved child of the wizarding world. Is there a single kid who didn't want to be you at some point? You're a celebrity. People look up to you – at least, provided Rita Skeeter isn't writing articles about you." He grinned.  
  
"I always thought you hated me."  
  
"Hate isn't the right word Potter. You were my arch nemesis. You were more a rival than an enemy. I had to compete, and to do that, I had to know your strengths and weaknesses. It's difficult to hate someone you know so much about."  
  
Harry was taken aback. "I am so incredibly lost. Why on earth would you want to know stuff about me?"  
  
"It's simple, Potter. I wanted to be better than you."  
  
"I always thought you had the easy way of it."  
  
"But you really did hate me."  
  
Harry grinned. "For a time, yes. But it's like you said, you can't hate someone you constantly try to defeat."  
  
Draco snorted. "You never beat me."  
  
"Wanna bet? What about the Quidditch Cup? What about the fact I'm Head Boy and you're not? What about - "  
  
"All right, all right. I get the point," Draco interrupted in irritation. He knelt beside Harry to sort the Shrivelfigs from other various leaves and plant fragments.  
  
Harry stared down at him. "So you don't hate me?"  
  
"No. I don't hate you. I don't particularly like you, but I don't hate you." Draco trying to ignore the gnawing sensation in his stomach as he said this. He didn't like Harry. So then why on earth were his insides shriveling up? He wasn't lying – was he?  
  
Harry nodded, trying to digest this new information.  
  
"And you – you don't hate me?" Draco's throat was suddenly dry, and he licked his lips nervously. Why should he care if Harry didn't like him? It was only Potter. It wasn't anyone he really cared about. But he knew that somehow, and for some absurd reason, if Potter told him that he hated him, he would feel...weird. Sort of empty. He shook this. It was probably something everyone felt – no one liked to be told they were hated.  
  
Harry thought long and hard for a moment. "No. No, Malfoy, I guess I don't."  
  
Draco leaned back on his heels, breathing deeply in an attempt to restore calm in his brain. It couldn't be normal for him to feel so relieved simply because Potter had said that he didn't hate him. "Right," he said, his old drawl back, though somewhat diminished. "Well, that's settled then. I think it's nearly time for us to go."  
  
Harry looked at his watch. "Yeah, you're right." He picked up his bucket and vanished it with a wave of his wand.  
  
"I thought we weren't allowed to use magic out of school hours," said Draco, mockingly. "Head Boy shouldn't abuse his power."  
  
"Shut up, Malfoy. You're an imbecile."  
  
Snape poked his head through the door irritably. "Have you boys done anything except gossip this detention?"  
  
Draco nodded. "Look, we made some progress – not much, but definitely some."  
  
Harry took a quick look and realized Draco was right. There was a slight improvement. Snape just shook his head and told them they could leave.  
  
"See you in detention tomorrow then, Potter."  
  
Harry nodded and they parted.  
  
TBC  
  
A/N: Hehehehe. This is astoundingly hard to write – I think next time I write a fic involving Draco, I'll start it from after he decides he likes whoever he's going to fancy. It's too hard to make him fall in love. Oh well, he's getting there.  
  
If you keep reading, in the next chapter, I'll try to work in a little more attraction between the two (it's the central focus for the next two chapters I think) and if I'm being nice, you may even get a kiss. But if I don't get reviews, I'll be mean and make you wait.  
  
Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, though! It's great to get your comments, and they are taken into consideration. Mostly I change my story to suit what people want, and I will continue to if possible. Just drop me a line and tell me what it is you want.  
  
Til next time!  
  
Piper 13: thanks for your review! I know, isn't it great?! They can be civil to each other. Watch this story for more fluff...  
  
HpAzn: Thanks for following my story so far! It means a lot to me. I hope you still like it. I can't make him sick...yet...that's a hint, yes. :P so anyway! There's fluff to come, don't worry.  
  
ImmortalTearsOf: oh my god, your name is awesome. I love it! Thanks for reviewing, I'm glad you liked my story!  
  
To everyone else – review this story! Please! They keep me going! 


	6. Confusion

Title: Like a Fairytale  
  
Author: Stardrops  
  
Genre: Romance  
  
Rating: PG 13: Some violence and slash, precautions only.  
  
Summary: Faced with difficult decisions about his future, Draco forms some unlikely friendships. A passionate romance is sparked – but is not as secret as he supposed. Someone is stalking Draco at Hogwarts – suddenly, protecting himself and Harry is more complicated than he imagined.  
  
I'm supposed to write a disclaimer, I believe. But since you all know the deal, that it is J.K. Rowling's wonderful work and creation that all these characters and settings came to be, I think this is the last one I'll bother with in this story.  
  
A/N: In chapter one, it previously said that Draco would be turning seventeen in April, but I wanted him and Harry to be closer in age, so I had to reupload that chapter and make him a few months older. So if you read that he was seventeen before, he is eighteen now, and no, that is not a mistake.  
  
Please note also that they come of age at eighteen, not seventeen now. Thank you.  
  
Chapter Six: Confusion  
  
Harry sat with Ron and Hermione in their Herbology class. The Slytherins and Hufflepuffs were merged with them, making their class a lot bigger than previous years.  
  
"How was detention?" Ron asked.  
  
Harry shrugged. "Not bad, but not great."  
  
"Malfoy still being a prat?" Ron glared at him from across the classroom. Obnoxious little git, isn't he?"  
  
Harry opened his mouth to protest, but immediately shut it. He had no reason to defend Malfoy. In fact, he had every reason to bitch about him, yet a part of him felt incredibly strange hearing Ron say bad things about the boy.  
  
Hermione passed Ron more frog spawn. "You know, maybe he's not actually that bad," she offered, glancing at Harry. "I mean, he hasn't been a downright prick to us since the incident at Grimmauld Place, has he?"  
  
Ron stared at her incredulously. "What are you on about? He completely used us. He was such a prick after his friends took him back – he only wanted to get on our good side so he'd have someone to talk to. Jerk."  
  
Hermione gave up and returned to her project. All was silent for a moment until a commotion broke out on the other side of the room. Harry looked up in time to see Goyle clutching his hand, blood streaming from an open wound. His Bowtruckle was heading in the opposite direction to him, on a mad rampage, straight for a pack of Slytherins with, Harry noticed immediately, Draco in the centre.  
  
Harry's heart leapt into his throat as he watched in horror. The Bowtruckle's outstretched fingers were sharp, he knew, and Draco was simply sitting there watching it head towards him with an expression of surprise. Pansy and her friends screamed and tried to get out of the way of the oncoming Bowtruckle with its menacing fingers.  
  
Hermione grabbed her wand, which was sitting on the table beside her own patch of earth, and uttered a quick incantation – "Stupefy!"  
  
The Bowtruckle halted and fell, almost in slow motion. Everyone watched it fall, and then Professor Sprout jumped into action. Congratulating Hermione, she scolded Goyle for alarming the creature.  
  
"It will be a long time until that creature is ready to go back into the forest," she told him angrily. "What on earth were you thinking?"  
  
Goyle looked up at her stupidly, his hand still bleeding. Professor Sprout sent him to the hospital wing, and looked to Draco and the other Slytherins.  
  
"Everyone okay?" she asked them.  
  
Draco nodded, his gaze flickering to Hermione and Harry. Ron was standing back, scowling, obviously wishing there had been more injury for the Slytherins.  
  
Draco was surprised to see Harry's expression – he looked almost anxious. Probably that famous Gryffindor personality coming into action, caring about others, he thought. He couldn't help noticing a part of him thinking, 'or maybe he was actually worried about what happened to you...' Silencing this part of him, he inclined his head in a silent thank you to Hermione and returned to his Slytherin companions.  
  
Hermione put her wand back down on the table and sat back down. "Honestly, that Goyle is such an idiot. How could one person possibly possess so much stupidity?"  
  
Harry blinked and returned to earth, his heartbeat slowing. Why on earth was he so worried about whether the Bowtruckle had attacked Malfoy or not? It was just Malfoy. It would probably do him some good to get some scratches and imperfections on that clear skin – stop him being so –  
  
Harry gasped aloud. He considered Malfoy attractive? No! That wasn't possible. Malfoy was a boy. Not only that, he was the opposition, who stood for everything Harry and his friends were supposed to be against. He couldn't fancy the boy who would eventually, whether he wanted to or not, become Voldemort's right man.  
  
"Harry? Harry, are you all right?"  
  
Harry shook himself. Hermione was trying to get his attention. "Harry, what's gotten into you all of a sudden?"  
  
He blinked twice and shrugged feebly. "Let's get back to this project, hey?" he replied, and turned his attention back to the small mound of earth the three of them were meant to be constructing into a perfect landscape for the creature of their choice. Hermione and Ron exchanged a look, but silently agreed not to question Harry any further.  
  
Harry was oblivious to this silent conversation, as he tried to calm his spinning head. He felt faint. The realization that he no longer hated or even disliked Draco suddenly hit home. He tried to act normal, so as not to appear suspicious to Ron and Hermione, but his fingers were trembling slightly.  
  
Draco was waiting outside the Potions corridor for Harry, who was late. He couldn't get the image of Harry's face out of his mind – the expression Harry had worn when Draco was being threatened by the irate Bowtruckle. He'd looked positively horrified, which struck Draco as odd, considering he and Harry weren't particularly close. If it had been Hermione or Ron who was being threatened, Draco could understand that. But it was him. Harry didn't even really like him. There was an even stranger fact gnawing at him – realization that he was pleased Harry cared about him. Or seemed to, at least.  
  
He looked at his watch. Harry was nearly ten minutes late, Snape would kill him. He was about to walk off without the Gryffindor when he heard feet pattering up behind him. He turned to see Harry running towards him, obviously flustered.  
  
"Am I late?" he asked, worriedly.  
  
Draco hid a smile. Harry was really cute when he was vexed. "Yes, Potter. You're ten minutes late, and if we don't get there soon, you'll be fried and tossed into the Potion Snape is currently concocting."  
  
Harry smiled witheringly. "Thanks, Malfoy. That's very reassuring."  
  
The two walked down to the dungeons together. Snape, however, barely even noticed they were late, much to Harry's relief. He nodded at them to acknowledge their presence, and they got straight to work on the storeroom.  
  
Draco stood back for a while under the pretences of mopping, his eyes fixed on Harry. The dark haired boy had his back turned, but Draco still watched him. Harry's strong, delicate fingers clutched a sponge as he scrubbed furiously at the crusted substances around the tops of the jars. Draco watched silently for several minutes, and then bent to help. The two boys were sitting on the ground scouring for ages before either of them spoke.  
  
"This is a rather odd way to spend a detention, don't you think?" Harry said, uncomfortable in the thick silence.  
  
Draco considered this. "Well, it's grueling, horrible and not something I would particularly fancy doing in my spare time, so I think it's probably ideal to someone like McGonagall. Anyway, it beats fishing for strange creatures in the freezing lake."  
  
Harry laughed. "That was my best memory of you, floundering about in the water, splashing everywhere."  
  
Draco glared. "Shut up. That water was cold."  
  
"Malfoy, it was the beginning of autumn! Summer had only just finished! How could it have been that cold?"  
  
"The lake's always cold, you knob."  
  
Harry realized this was true, and the main reason why students went swimming in it on the hottest days of summer – because it was always icy and freezing.  
  
"And anyway, next time we're there, I'll toss you in and see how you like it."  
  
Harry grinned. "Yeah, if you can catch me."  
  
"Go to hell Potter, you're a shrimp and not any faster than me."  
  
"I'm not a shrimp. We deduced this a while ago, remember? I'm almost as tall as you are."  
  
Draco bit his lip. Bugger. This was true.  
  
Harry watched him in mild fascination. It was such a childish, cute look for Draco to be chewing so thoughtfully on his soft, pink lips. He quickly snapped out of this thought though, and got up to get another jar.  
  
Draco got up also. He reached for a jar, selecting one with a strange green substance coating the rim of the jar. Harry noticed the intricate, beautiful silver watch Draco wore on his left wrist.  
  
"Nice watch."  
  
Draco flicked a glance to it and nodded. "Thanks."  
  
Harry waited for a moment, and then continued. "Where'd it come from?"  
  
Draco brushed his gaze over Harry's face. "It was a gift from my dad," he said softly.  
  
"Your father?" Harry said in surprise. He wouldn't have expected Draco to still be wearing something from his father.  
  
"Yes, Potter, I do have one you realize."  
  
Harry frowned. "Are you back on speaking terms with him?"  
  
Draco tensed. "Why do you care?"  
  
Harry shrugged. "You just – well, I just thought you wouldn't be fond of someone who threw you out onto the streets at the age of sixteen.  
  
"I was seventeen, Potter."  
  
Harry stopped and stared for a moment. "What?"  
  
"Seventeen, Potter. The number that comes after sixteen. I'm already seventeen."  
  
This fact was completely foreign to Harry. He'd always thought he was older than Draco. "When's your birthday?"  
  
"April 14."  
  
"So you'll be eighteen next year?"  
  
"Congratulations, Potter. You can count."  
  
"But that means – you'll be legally an adult. You can – " Harry stopped immediately, remembering this was a sore subject for Draco, and wishing whole-heartedly that he'd never brought it up. Draco was still collected though.  
  
"Yes, Potter, I'll be legally old enough to join the Death Eaters." Draco surveyed Harry's blushing face, his cheeks defined by the red flush that youthened his appearance suddenly, making him look much younger and more innocent.  
  
"Are you going to?" Harry asked, not knowing whether he really wanted to hear the answer.  
  
Draco stared at him. "You want me to say no, don't you?"  
  
Harry swallowed. "I don't really care." This was a downright lie. He didn't want anyone to join the Death Eaters, and for some reason, especially not Draco.  
  
Draco shrugged. "I don't know yet. It'll depend on my views closer to the time."  
  
Harry watched his face, a difficult feat, for Draco stood in the shadows. "You don't have to go over to the Dark Side, you know."  
  
Draco exhaled. "I know that, Potter."  
  
"Then why are you even considering it?"  
  
"What would I have if I didn't? What other purpose could I possibly have?" Draco asked him. "You're going to say that I could join Dumbledore and be part of your quest for peace and harmony, aren't you?"  
  
"Well, you could. But that's not all, you know. You don't actually have to join anyone. You can just exist without taking sides."  
  
"Yeah, right, Potter. I'm a Malfoy."  
  
"What does that mean?"  
  
"Every ancestor and every Malfoy or Black who stayed true to the family," Harry had a distinct feeling Draco was referring to Sirius's betraying his family and going over to Dumbledore when he said this, "has been a Death Eater or a follower of the Dark Lord. I can't dishonour the family name by refusing."  
  
"Why not? Is it really what you want, to become a Death Eater simply to uphold a family reputation? That's not what you want, is it." This last part wasn't a question, it was a statement, and Draco felt a shiver up his spine as Harry stood less than a foot from him, staring at him.  
  
"It doesn't matter what I want, Potter, I was born to carry on the tradition – my parents didn't have a child so they could enjoy the pure pleasure of having one. They only wanted to extend their line and see their reputation upheld. I can't break that."  
  
"The only thing that matters in your future, Malfoy, is your happiness and what you want."  
  
"And being in limbo is going to make me happy?"  
  
"Not necessarily, maybe you would be better off being a Death Eater." Harry's emerald eyes were sparkling intensely in the dim light of the room. Draco found it suddenly difficult to swallow, and tried as hard as he could to look away. He couldn't, though; it was as though his own grey eyes were drawn to Harry's like magnetic forces.  
  
"But?"  
  
"But you should at least do what you want, not what your father or mother or Dumbledore or me or anyone says."  
  
Draco was silent. He'd never been told that he could have a choice in his future. It was his rebellious streak that made him believe at times that he could just do something rash and unexpected that was completely his own doing – but he had always been taught that what his father and mother decided was what he would do. It was strange to have someone telling him that he could actually do something that he wanted to do instead of having others map his path for him.  
  
Harry watched Draco standing silently, and took it the image of the boy in front of him. Draco's hand was sitting, forgotten on the shelf, his fingers splayed in a beautiful pale fan, contrasting with the dark wood of the shelves. He reached out inadvertently and touched Draco's skin.  
  
Draco's entire body tensed. Harry's touch was soft and gentle, nothing like anyone else he'd ever been in close contact with. He could do nothing but stand still and watch his hand being traced lightly by Harry's tanned fingers.  
  
He drew in breath quickly as the touch was removed. His eyes flickered back up to Harry's face, and found he'd moved closer to the boy unconsciously. Their eyes met and Harry was unable to break the gaze, drawn in by the clear grey of the other boy. Without either boy's realization, their faces were moving closer together until they were barely a few centimeters apart.  
  
Harry could feel Draco's breath on his lips. His skin tingled with anticipation as Draco leaned in to make contact with Harry. Just as their lips were about to touch, the door was flung open and light flooded the room, breaking the mood. Harry and Draco sprang apart, their 'magnetic forces' broken. Neither could meet the other's eyes, and looked guiltily at the face of their intruder, Professor Snape.  
  
Snape was taken aback by the guilty expressions on the boys' faces, but dismissed it immediately as he took in the state of the room. It was already almost entirely tidy. His face struggled not to look impressed, and he simply nodded.  
  
"Well done. You may leave for tonight, if you wish. Your detention tomorrow may be shorter than the previous two if you can finish the room quickly."  
  
"T-thank you, Professor," stammered Harry. Draco could only nod; his mouth was so dry he couldn't utter anything understandable.  
  
Snape waited for a moment, but neither boy moved. "You may go," he prompted, wondering why they were acting so strangely. He was startled as Harry grabbed his bag and bolted, not noticing the book that tumbled from the bag to land at Draco's feet. Draco blinked for a moment before regaining some composure in Harry's absence and reached down to pick it up. It was Quidditch through the Ages, a favourite of Draco's. He smiled unintentionally. Harry had good taste.  
  
"Er – Draco? Is there something going on?" Snape asked, thoroughly confused. Draco had almost forgotten that his godfather was there.  
  
"No, sorry. Just got to give this back, then. See you tomorrow." Draco exited as casually as he could.  
  
As soon as he was out of the room, he opened the front cover of the book. There was an inscription written there.  
  
"Dear Harry,  
  
Happy 16th Birthday! Madam Pince will go spare if you borrow this from the library any more, so here's a copy for yourself. Enjoy!  
  
From Ron and Hermione"  
  
Draco felt a stab of jealousy in his stomach. He knew Harry was close to Hermione and Ron, but it was strange to see something so plainly written. Especially after what had just happened. Or had nearly happened. He was still startled. What on earth had he been thinking? He'd been about to kiss Harry. Kissing a boy was a thought that had never entered his head, for one. Kissing Harry Potter was one he never would have imagined in his entire life. If he had, he would have been envied by more than half the female population at Hogwarts.  
  
But if he ever did get with Harry, it wouldn't be public. It couldn't be public. There was far too much at stake – not just reputations. Friendships, family, power – not to mention all the complications with Voldemort it would cause. No, he and Harry could never be an item. And why was he still entertaining the thought anyway? It wasn't right; he couldn't have a relationship with another boy anyway. His father was strongly against homosexuality as well as half-bloods, Mud-bloods and Muggles.  
  
Something Harry had said floated to surface in his mind. "You should at least do what you want, not what your father or mother or Dumbledore or me or anyone says."  
  
It was such a typical Harry thing to say, he thought in irritation. But it was sticking in his mind. What exactly was it that he wanted?  
  
He looked at the book in his hand. If his heart kept telling him to go after Harry and finish what they'd almost started, he was going to scream. He couldn't do that now, it would be embarrassing, plus he did not like Harry in that way. In any way.  
  
So then why did he feel bitterly disappointed?  
  
TBC  
  
A/N: Well, there we go. Comment please! Everything welcome – compliments, suggestions for improvement, anything. Just review!  
  
Bertiebottbean: thank you! I love getting compliments, and yours are most welcome. Hope you continue to read and enjoy!  
  
Hp-Azn: all right, all right. Just for you, ill work that into the next two or three chapters. Might actually be better than what I had planned. Thank you very much for being so loyal and reading my story without fail. Its so lovely to have you continuously reviewing! Thanks for your suggestions too, keep them coming!  
  
Piper13: you are psychic, my dearest. No, he is not hallucinating, and yes – he will soon become mildly obsessed. Keep reading, and please, by all means, review! Nice to see someone as happy bout Draco and Harry getting together as I am! :D  
  
Dab-sampson: thank you so much! That's really sweet. Ill keep them coming just for you!  
  
Silver Drago 161: Thank you! How lovely of you! I hope you still like what I'm doing! Please keep reading and reviewing, your comment made my day!  
  
To anyone else reading this, please - PLEASE – review my story! It doesn't take long, and it doesn't even have to be long. Just something so I know people are reading and enjoying my story. It really brightens my day to know someone is enjoying what I'm writing. Thank you! 


	7. Kissing In The Rain

Title: Like a Fairytale  
  
Author: Stardrops  
  
Genre: Romance  
  
Rating: PG 13: Some violence and slash, precautions only. Fair bit of swearing in this chapter as well.  
  
Summary: Faced with difficult decisions about his future, Draco forms some unlikely friendships. A passionate romance is sparked – but is not as secret as he supposed. Someone is stalking Draco at Hogwarts – suddenly, protecting himself and Harry is more complicated than he imagined.  
  
Chapter Seven: Kissing In the Rain  
  
_ Kiss me in the rain  
  
Make me feel like a child again  
And the feeling that I get  
I don't even mind if we get wet.  
  
Barbara Streisand, "Kiss me in the Rain"  
  
Sometimes I'm not afraid I'll melt in the rain.  
I'm not afraid to be lost at sea.  
I'm not afraid to cry again.  
Because it's tears of joy you bring to me.  
  
- Barbara Streisand, "Wet"  
_  
Harry flattened himself against the wall of the corridor close to the common room, having run as fast as he could away from the dungeons. His breath was coming out in rapid gasps, not only from physical exertion.  
  
What had he done? Yes – Malfoy was handsome, smart and one of the most sought after blokes in Hogwarts, but what on earth had possessed him to touch – and even try to kiss? Harry felt his cheeks heat and turn into a brilliant shade of red and he squeezed his eyes shut in embarrassment at the memory. Ugh. What had he been thinking?  
  
Harry tried to push the incident out of his head. He had never felt so embarrassed before. What on earth would Malfoy think of him now? It wasn't that he cared what Malfoy thought but – well, actually, yes. He did. He cared what Malfoy thought. It was strange. There was a bizarre attraction between himself and Malfoy which he couldn't describe; he only knew it was there, and that it was recent.  
  
But what would have happened if he and Malfoy had actually kissed?  
  
Harry really wished his heart didn't quicken its pace every time he thought about kissing the other boy. It was really rather disconcerting.  
  
He shook his head and tried to clear it, as though it would defeat the memory. His heart rate was still racing, and his fingers trembled as they clutched his book bag. Now the Slytherin would probably go and tell all the other Slytherins about Harry Potter trying to kiss another – depressingly heterosexual – guy.  
  
Or was Draco heterosexual? Harry replayed in his mind the image of Draco's face nearing his own. There hadn't been anything in that expression that showed Draco being reluctant – or even hesitant. It just sort of felt like – natural. Like it was something they would be doing if Snape hadn't interrupted.  
  
Harry dug his nails grumpily into the palm of his hand. Stupid Snape. It was his entire fault that the event had not occurred.  
  
His eyebrows rose slowly as he realized that – in a bizarre twist of events – he actually wanted to kiss Malfoy. Or at least, he wanted to know what it felt like.  
  
Thinking back, he couldn't remember the last time he'd ever had a crush on a girl. Sure, he'd pashed a few, and found some attractive, but when was the last time he'd ever thought about them and gotten shivers down his spine? Or butterflies in his stomach?  
  
It had been a long time ago.  
  
Maybe he was just going insane. Just because he and Malfoy had almost shared a kiss did not mean he was entirely gay. He was just confused. It was too early for him to be able to figure out his sexuality anyway. He was only seventeen!  
  
That as it was, he still couldn't shake the feeling in his stomach when he remembered what had nearly happened. And while he dreaded the detention the next night, where it was sure to be awkward and silent, he also looked forward to it immensely. Just to being in close proximity with the blonde.  
  
Footsteps interrupted his thoughts and he froze. One part of him thought, 'Malfoy!' and the other part thought, 'oh god, please not Malfoy.'  
  
Unfortunately, it was the second part of him that got its wish. It was Filch – a much more ugly and nastier creation to be faced with late at night.  
  
"What are you doin' out o' bed this late?" he hissed, glaring at Harry with his pale, almost colourless eyes. Mrs Norris purred ominously, rubbing her body against Harry's calves as he stood staring blankly.  
  
"I-I was just going to bed," Harry said. "Just got out of detention with Professor Snape."  
  
Filch glared at him. "On your way then."  
  
Harry obliged and left immediately. Only when he entered the common room he as Head Boy was sharing with Hermione did he think again about Malfoy. As he dressed for bed, he wondered how Malfoy was feeling about what had just happened. The next day was going to be an interesting day for them both.

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Malfoy was, in fact, feeling strange. He lay in bed with the light of his wand illuminating the cover of Harry's book. He didn't know why, but it gave him great comfort to know that something belonging to Harry was so close to him. As he lay there in bed, his eyes drooped and eventually closed, lifting him off into irresistible dreams and waves of sleep.  
  
In his peaceful dreams, he smiled and rolled over gently. A chill ran down his back, but he thought nothing of it, pulling his blankets up higher around his neck.  
  
But he wasn't alone in the room, and there was someone else awake, watching the sleeping boy with a fiery tint in their eyes. It was someone who didn't belong in that particular part of the castle. It was someone with an evil intent. The someone, sneering and lifting a finger to trace it down Draco's cheek barely a millimeter from the skin, was whispering words that were almost lost, they were spoken so softly.  
  
"Your time is almost at hand. I am watching you."  
  
In his dreams, Draco shivered. But when he opened his eyes the next morning, there was no one there.

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The next day was so unbearably hot that most classes had been cancelled. Students swam in the icy lake, appreciating its coolness while teachers tried to cool themselves in their studies with handheld fans. The heat was such that it was obvious an autumn thunderstorm was on its way, and everyone was looking forward to a change from the long, hot summer.  
  
Detention that night was so tense, it was excruciating. Harry could barely meet Draco's eyes, and Draco couldn't bring himself to speak. Tension in the room was so thick, Draco was certain he could have cut it with a sharp knife. Two hours passed in silence. They were working so furiously that the room was nearly completely clean by the time they were forced to speak.  
  
Draco was reaching to place a jar on the top shelf when he tripped over a bucket on the floor. He fell spectacularly, crashing into Harry and knocking him to the ground, landing on top of him.  
  
"Ooof!" Harry groaned, pinned to the floor.  
  
"Shit," Draco mumbled, trying to get up. For some reason, his ankle felt sprained. "Shit, shit, shit. I can't get up!"  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"My fucking ankle. I think I hurt it." Draco tried to get up onto his knees and hands, but collapsed again, his wrist giving beneath him.  
  
"Oh, fuck. My wrist is screwed as well."  
  
"Well, aren't you a pack of ailments," Harry mused. He didn't want to admit it, but he was actually enjoying lying with the weight of Draco atop him.  
  
"Shut up, Potter." Draco groaned again and tried his hardest to get up. He managed to lift his torso up and get into a relatively comfortable sitting position.  
  
Harry got up also and sat beside Draco.  
  
"Fuckety fuck," Draco muttered, staring blankly at his wrist.  
  
"Stop swearing, moron. Snape will kill us if he hears." Harry took Draco's foot in his hand and removed his shoe, provoking yet more swearing and glares from Draco. He rubbed his hand gently along the delicate foot, secretly sneaking a glance to admire the petite and seemingly perfect toes.  
  
"Can you rotate it?" he asked, trying to stop himself from touching Draco's foot so much – it was causing more shudders of delight in his stomach which were bewildering to say the least.  
  
Draco shrugged and tried. He managed to move it slowly, but it was causing him a lot of pain, so Harry instead just rubbed it. He didn't know any spells to stop the pain, and couldn't for the life of him remember how to fix it in the Muggle way. So instead he continued to gently run his fingers over the indentations created by the delicate bones giving shape to Draco's feet.  
  
"Think you can walk?" he asked, not really wanting Draco to reply in the affirmative, simply so he could continue to sit here and touch the Slytherin.  
  
Draco was finding it hard to concentrate. Having Harry in such close contact with him was enough to blow his concentration, but the slow, stroking movement of Harry's fingers along the arch of his foot was enough to send him into a dead faint. He struggled to regain his composure.  
  
"I dunno, I'll give it a go." Draco tried to stand and found he could without too much pain, as long as he kept most of the weight on the opposite foot. His skin tingled where Harry had been touching it, as though an electric sensation was buzzing through his every nerve.  
  
He tried to take a step and nearly toppled over. Harry caught him at the last moment, holding him briefly in his arms for a moment before setting him upright again. Draco was nothing short of mortified, and tried to cover it.  
  
"Let's just sit down for a while until you recover a bit," Harry suggested. Draco shrugged but obliged, sitting down again in relief. His ankle still throbbed, and he absentmindedly rubbed his wrist. He was aware of Harry sitting close and scrutinizing him. He didn't want to look up in case he met Harry's eyes and was forced into conversation about something he really didn't think he had the wit to talk about tonight.  
  
But if they didn't talk about it tonight, it would linger in the air around them forever, getting more and more awkward every day.  
  
It as so hard though, how could he talk about it when he didn't know what he wanted to get out of the conversation? Did he want to tell Harry there was nothing between them, or did he actually want something more than that? Surely the feeling he got whenever Harry was near him was only an infatuation, the sort of feeling that occurs when you study someone so closely for so long. Hatred turns into fascination which turns into an envy and even lust. It didn't mean there was anything within him that even wanted anything more of a relationship with Harry Potter.  
  
But he could still feel the electricity spreading through his body from contact with Harry. And the shock he'd gotten to find he actually liked it when Harry had caught him in his arms...  
  
"What happened yesterday, Malfoy?" Harry asked. Draco stiffened at the change in his voice. It was gentler, sweeter, almost pleading for understanding. Such innocence could hardly be denied, and Draco's heart longed to discuss for the answers as well. His head and heart were telling him two different things, and he knew which was the one he wanted. But was it smart to be even considering it? It was a risky choice for something that may not ever even work out.  
  
"Yesterday?" Draco repeated, his throat dry and croaky.  
  
Harry threw him a sarcastic glance. "You know what I'm talking about Malfoy, don't make this any more uncomfortable than it has to be. What happened there?"  
  
Malfoy shrugged again. "You tell me."  
  
Harry looked at the ground. "I meant what I said. About you doing what it was you wanted, not what you thought was right, or what other people wanted and expected of you."  
  
"That's easy for you to say Potter. I know what you said last night. It doesn't mean you'll make a difference to what I decide to do later on in life." Draco's tone was more snappy and icy than he intended it to be, years of practice at disguising any emotion in his voice by sounding hard and indifferent.  
  
Harry recoiled slightly. "You change so easily."  
  
Draco frowned. "What do you mean?"  
  
Harry looked down at his lap. "Some days I get the feeling you don't mind me, then other days you make me feel like the lowest form of human kind there is."  
  
Draco felt uneasy. He knew he had this effect on people; it was something he'd actually worked at achieving before. But when it had this effect on Harry, the result somehow wasn't as satisfying.  
  
"Look, about what happened last night," he started, "I don't know what happened."  
  
Harry felt himself deflate. It was something so different to imagine being rejected by Malfoy, and then having it actually happen. It was like a knife ripping into his insides. He didn't even know why he cared so much about this person who had made his life hell for the past six years. It was a strange feeling. He just suddenly started to like this person, and he knew it mattered to him what Draco thought about him.  
  
"Then it was just one of those spur-of-the-moment things that mean nothing?" Harry said, trying to conceal the disappointment he felt.  
  
Draco studied Harry's face in the dim light of the storeroom. "Did it mean anything to you?"  
  
Harry chuckled dryly. "Nothing happened, Malfoy. How could it matter if there was nothing to matter?"  
  
Draco shrugged. "Just – well – thought it might have been..."  
  
"Been what?" Harry asked.  
  
"Oh, I don't know. Fuck man, my wrist is going to kill me, I swear."  
  
Before he could stop himself, Harry had reached out and taken Draco's arm, examining the wrist. There were tiny blonde hairs on the back of his hand and his arm, nearly invisible. Harry smoothed his hand along the slight ridges around and between Draco's fingers. Draco's eyes closed involuntarily as the touch sent shivers once more down his spine, warmth spreading through him.  
  
He realized how hungry he was for love – since he'd been deprived of family, there was no one he had to give him love and compassion. Though he always tried to convince people otherwise, it was something he always longed for and dreamt of – having someone to hold and love and to call his own. Here was his chance, to have someone by him. Did he want to take the chance or not? Wasn't it too early to tell if he actually liked Harry or not?  
  
He opened his mouth to speak, but Harry was already talking.  
  
"I think I'll go get Snape, maybe he can help or something." Before Draco could stop him, Harry had gotten up and walked to the door of the storeroom. Peering out into the dungeon, he realized Snape was no longer there. Looking at his companion, he asked, "What's the time?"  
  
Draco flicked his unhurt wrist to see his watch. "Nearly midnight."  
  
Harry groaned. "We've been here for hours, Snape must have forgotten about us and left."  
  
Draco creased his brows. "Does this mean we're stuck in the dungeon for the whole night?"  
  
Harry rolled his eyes. "Even you can be incredibly dense at times, Malfoy. We're wizards, we know how to unlock a bloody door. And since when were the classrooms locked at night anyway?"  
  
Draco nodded. "Right. You want to help me get up?"  
  
Harry took Draco's outstretched hand and pulled him gently to his feet. "We'd better be quiet, Filch is still wandering around and we all know what he's like if students are out of bed this late without a teacher's permission."  
  
"We have a teacher's permission...well, sort of anyway. It's not like we're out here for no reason – we were just in detention with Snape."  
  
"Filch hates me, he's never going to believe me when I say that. And he's not going to let any students off lightly if he can help it. Detentions aren't supposed to go past eleven thirty anyway, after the new rules Dumbledore set down. We'll be given more detentions if we're caught now."  
  
"You're the Head Boy, can't you just pretend you were doing your duties?"  
  
"What about you?"  
  
Draco thought for a moment. "I'll make a run for it."  
  
Harry snorted. "Don't be stupid, it'll never work. We've just got to be extra careful and somehow get you to Madam Pomfrey. She'll probably not ask many questions."  
  
"She won't accept patients this late at night, get real, Potter."  
  
"Well what do you want to do?"  
  
"You'll have to help me to the Slytherin common room."  
  
Harry groaned. "What if someone sees me?"  
  
Draco glowered at him. "I think I'll be more embarrassed. Draco Malfoy being carted around by Harry Potter? That's pretty embarrassing if you ask me."  
  
Harry lifted Draco's arm over his shoulder and put his other arm around Draco's waist. Draco hobbled out of the dungeon into the silent school.  
  
"Which way?" Harry whispered. He'd been to the common room before, of course, when he'd taken the Polyjuice Potion with Ron and Hermione in their second year. But he'd never tried to get there from the dungeons, and often it was hard enough trying to get out to the Gryffindor common room without getting lost; the corridors around the dungeons were mazelike.  
  
"Left," Draco grunted. They walked in silence for a while, then Draco stiffened. "Fuck."  
  
Harry turned to him. "What's wrong?"  
  
Draco didn't answer, but tried to hobble faster. "Fuck, fuck, fuck." He exhaled at Harry angrily. "Come on! Go faster!"  
  
"Why?" Harry was completely and utterly confused.  
  
"Can you hear that?" The pair stood still in the corridor. There was a faint mewing noise coming from behind them. Mrs Norris and Filch had sensed their presence.  
  
"Fuck," Harry said suddenly. He and Draco moved as quickly as they could, which was not fast, considering Draco's ailments. After a few minutes of frenzied hopping and brisk walking on Harry's behalf, they could hear Filch's voice softly not too far behind.  
  
"No use running, I'll catch you," he cackled evilly. Draco tightened his hold on Harry's shoulder.  
  
They found themselves at the end of the corridor. The Entrance Hall was in view. The door to the outside was slightly ajar, Harry noticed. Half pulling and half dragging Draco, he somehow got them over to it and opened the door. He yanked it open and physically lifted Draco up and out into the yard. Still holding Draco, who was surprisingly light in his arms, he walked as quickly as he could around to the courtyard and towards the rock formations near the forest – close to Hagrid's hut.  
  
By this time, Draco was beating his fists furiously on Harry's shoulder. "Let me down," he hissed. Harry let go and Draco crumpled to the ground, glaring up at him. "Why the hell are we out here?"  
  
Harry sighed. "Well, we weren't going to get out of the way of Filch with you like that, and he'll never catch us out here."  
  
Draco gave a half laugh. "Yeah, but we can barely see anything. It's almost pitch black because of the clouds!"  
  
Harry rolled his eyes again. "Oh please, you are such a drama queen at times, Malfoy. Get over it; we'll get you back inside in a while, once Filch has gone off to a different part of the castle."  
  
"Oh, great. And how exactly are you going to know when he has?"  
  
Harry considered this. "I'll go in for a while and see if I can hear him anywhere."  
  
"Yeah, right, then you'll go right back to the Gryffindor common room, or the Head Boy common room more like, and leave me out here in the rain."  
  
"God, shut up Malfoy, you're too bloody paranoid for your own good."  
  
There was a silence. Thunder was rolling in the clouds above them; surprisingly loud considering the storm wasn't forecast to reach them til the morning. After a short while, the tiniest of raindrops began to fall on Harry's forehead as he tilted his head back to look at the sky.  
  
"It's raining," said Draco, sounding immensely unimpressed.  
  
"Well spotted."  
  
"Are we going to stay out here all night?"  
  
"I just answered that, you prick. Shut up with the complaining for a bit will you?"  
  
Draco was quiet for a moment.  
  
"You feeling any better?" Harry asked.  
  
"Not really. My ankle is throbbing, but my wrist seems better – slightly."  
  
"Well, that's an improvement."  
  
Draco didn't reply, but started to remove his shoe. He dropped the sneaker on the grass and massaged his foot. Harry noticed what he was doing; it looked rather awkward with his left hand. He grinned and held out his own hand.  
  
"Give me your foot."  
  
Draco looked hard at him. "What?"  
  
"Well, you're making no progress on your own, at least I have two ail-free hands here," Harry said, grinning. He twinkled his fingers at Draco as though to prove his point.  
  
Draco smirked. "Well, much as I'd love to have you do my dirty work, can you get me up onto one of those rocks? The ground is kinda hard, and the grass is getting soggy. My robes will be stained soon."  
  
Harry shook his head. "You are without a doubt the most vain person I've ever met." Nonetheless, he still helped Draco up til he was comfortably seated on the rocks.  
  
The silence was beginning to become tense again. Draco hated this. Being constantly having to be helped by Harry was nothing short of embarrassing, especially as he was trying to convince himself that he felt nothing for the dark haired, green eyed, attractive young boy – and that the burst of electricity he felt every time they touched was nothing to do with anything except hatred and a long standing rivalry.  
  
It was hard for him to try and pretend this was how he was feeling. He wanted nothing more than to know if Harry really felt anything for him. Every time Harry sat beside him, Draco had an urge to reach out and trace the features of his face, and yet he knew he shouldn't.  
  
What was Harry feeling?  
  
There was only one way to find out.  
  
With a sudden burst of confidence and forthrightness, Draco said, "I think there's stuff we need to talk about."  
  
Harry's heart leapt into his throat and his heartbeat increased dramatically. He had been hoping but dreading at the same time the conversation he knew was likely to come up after the previous night's episode.  
  
Draco paused. "Look, I'm sorry about what I did."  
  
"What you did?" Harry was slightly confused. "What did you do?"  
  
Draco cringed. "Are you purposely making this more excruciating for me, Potter?"  
  
"No, it's not intentional," Harry said, unable to suppress a small smile.  
  
Draco smiled witheringly. "Well, I didn't – it wasn't – there isn't – I mean – were you uncomfortable?"  
  
Harry squirmed for a second before countering, "Were you?"  
  
Draco was silent.  
  
Harry's heart leapt. Maybe this silence meant Draco was – that – maybe he felt the same way?  
  
He decided to be completely truthful. "I wasn't uncomfortable," he answered Draco's previous question softly, almost whispering. It was astonishingly hard to say, and now he'd said it, he almost wished he hadn't. It would be only too easy for Draco to destroy him now – he had the words from Harry Potter himself.  
  
Draco looked up slowly. "You weren't?" Harry couldn't see as he wasn't looking directly at Draco, but the Slytherin's face had lit up slightly and his heart was pounding in his chest.  
  
Harry shrugged. "I-I mean, I understand if you were, I mean, it's - "  
  
Harry faltered as Draco's fingers laced with his. He jerkily moved his gaze from the side to Draco's hand entwined with his own, to Draco's face, looking searchingly at his own.  
  
"I wasn't either," Draco said softly. Harry's heart leapt so high he nearly fainted. The rain fell harder around them, but Harry hardly noticed. They were locked into a quiet stare, each searching the eyes of the other for clues as to whether their feelings matched.  
  
A crash and boom of thunder overhead made them both jump, their hands parting company. Draco laughed nervously. "Er – should we perhaps get inside?"  
  
"Scared of a storm are you?" Harry teased. Draco shoved him playfully. Lightening forked across the sky, followed by another loud roar and crackle of thunder that frightened both boys, though neither wanted to admit it.  
  
With the last clap of thunder, sheets of rain poured down, no longer spot- wetting the boys but completely soaking them. Draco's hair, usually so perfectly groomed, was flattened against his scalp, a few locks escaping to cover his eyes. Though it was dark without the lightening illuminating the sky, Harry could still see his companion and couldn't bear the beautiful face to be covered. Reaching out a hand, he brushed the wet locks back from Draco's face, smiling at the radiant eyes that blinked at him in slight surprise from beneath.  
  
Draco's arm snaked around Harry's waist and held him close. Harry slipped his hand around Draco's shoulder and with his other hand, combed the stray curls that escaped from the rest of Draco's hair.  
  
"We're getting soaked," he whispered to Draco.  
  
"I don't care," he replied, almost inaudibly. He watched Harry's face move closer, and at last couldn't bear the suspense any further. He leaned forward and, stroking the side of Harry's face with his injured wrist, ignoring its complaints, he tenderly brushed his lips against Harry's.  
  
Lightening forked across the sky again, followed by a huge boom of thunder, but even as the rain bit down on their shoulders, neither boy noticed a thing.

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TBC

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A/N: Awwww, isn't that cute? You had all better appreciate this chapter, it was amazingly hard to write. I think I did maybe four different versions of it til I managed one I was okay with. I hope its okay with everyone, only one way for you to tell me! Please review, it really doesn't take long and they mean the world to me. Thank you SO much to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, I swear, that chapter was soooooo much fun to write. Im glad everyone who reviewed liked what they read, and I really hope you continue liking! So drop me a line sometime.  
  
Special thanks goes to my lovely reviewer Piper13 who has not only reviewed this story a few times, but has also taken the time to read my other stories and review them as well! You rock, Piper13!  
  
Also to HpAzn, who I think has reviewed every single chapter of this story, or close to anyway!  
  
Ronindaiymo: thanks man! I thought you weren't into Harry/Draco slash, but you prove me wrong! Thanks again, you rock man. hugz donal  
  
Debsamson: hey, thanks! You're always so nice in your reviews – you're my new friend! :D lol kidding, but thanks for the compliments! They get even closer this chapter, but im getting kinda bored so ill speed things up slightly. Hope you keep liking!  
  
AD: yeah, didn't they just?! They are such a cute couple. I got that idea after reading FrancesPotter's resolution where something like that happens, but yeah! It worked so well with that that I couldn't resist putting it in. Glad you liked it, please keep reading!  
  
Kazillion: sorri! looks embarrassed just wanted to make it cliffy, and I thought it worked well, so I figured why not! I actually used what you said in your review in the chapter, see if you can find it! Thanks for your review, you rock!  
  
Childofthenewdawn: awesome name, its great! Don't worry bout writing a short review, just the fact that you did makes you a hero to me! Thanks for your compliments, my ego is nice and swollen now! Thanks! :D  
  
December jewel: your wish is my command. I know, they totally can do it! Why can't Draco see that?! :P don't worry, he will see it soon. Keep reading!  
  
SilverDragon161: Wow. There's a major compliment. Thank you so much! You should have seen me writing it! My face was bright red and I was laughing my head off. It was so much fun to write! This chapter was seriously difficult though, but at least it's out of the way! This update is just for you!  
  
Katja: Thanks gal! you certainly did brighten my day! Hope you like what I've written now!  
  
Everyone else – please review! I can't update again for a while cos I'm going to Bali this week and all next week (love 16th birthday presents – you get spoiled so much!) but reviews are so muchly appreciated! Thanks again! 


	8. Fleeting Glances

Title: Like a Fairytale  
  
Author: Stardrops  
  
Genre: Romance  
  
Rating: PG 13: Some violence and slash, precautions only.  
  
Summary: Faced with difficult decisions about his future, Draco forms some unlikely friendships. A passionate romance is sparked – but is not as secret as he supposed. Someone is stalking Draco at Hogwarts – suddenly, protecting himself and Harry is more complicated than he imagined.  
  
Chapter Eight: Fleeting Glances  
  
The two boys had avoided each other since that night. Harry was feeling more introverted and reserved around his other friends, his mind straying nearly always from schoolwork to dreams. His teachers were getting rather put out about his lack of concentration, but he barely noticed at all. Hermione and Ron sensed there was something up with Harry, but decided not to push it; they knew Harry would talk about it if he wanted to.  
  
One morning in particular, the three friends were sitting in the Hall at breakfast before going to their Transfiguration class. Ron was moaning about how little sleep he'd had because he'd had to complete the essay for Professor McGonagall. Hermione was telling him off for leaving it so late, and Harry was listening and laughing to what they were saying. He had finished his, but it was totally sub-standard and knew he couldn't expect a good grade for it. He'd been too distracted by thoughts of a certain other person to whom he had not spoken for weeks since they'd been together in the rainy night.  
  
He glanced across the Hall to the Slytherin table. Draco Malfoy sat facing him with Crabbe and Goyle sitting either side. He didn't look as distracted or confused as Harry felt – in fact, the boy seemed so normal that Harry was beginning to wonder if anything had actually happened or if it had all been an extremely elaborate dream.  
  
As he watched the blonde lift his spoon of porridge to his mouth, he saw those deep grey eyes flicker in his direction and hold his gaze for a moment. Feeling his cheeks turn red, Harry quickly averted his eyes and tried to bring his concentration back to the conversation Hermione and Ron were having now, about the visit to Hogsmeade later that month.  
  
"This is the first one this term – we can do all our Christmas shopping there now!" Hermione squealed with delight.  
  
Harry smiled weakly and tried to force enthusiasm. "Yeah, we need to get something really good for Hagrid this year – any ideas?"  
  
From across the Hall, Draco's pulse was racing faster than normal. He'd watched Harry in classes of course, for any sign that Harry felt something about what had happened between them, but had gotten nothing. He'd just seemed normal – maybe quieter, but still relatively the same.  
  
Every time he and Harry held a gaze or something across the Hall or across a classroom, Draco's heartbeat raced and his mind went into autospin, making him dizzy.  
  
He had been in a sort of inner turmoil since that night. He'd been so shocked when he woke the next morning, that he'd avoided Harry that day, and the next. For an entire fortnight, the two had not so much looked at each other.  
  
Then he'd been in Potions, and Snape was berating Ron and Harry for their lousy potion again. Harry had seemed downright pissed off, understandably. And when Snape compared their potion to the one Draco had made, their eyes had met for the first time. Of course, they immediately looked in opposite directions to save embarrassment. But Draco still got a thrill every time he locked gaze with those brilliant green eyes.  
  
He watched Harry again from across the Hall, noticing a slight pink in his cheeks. It made him look even more adorable than he already was, and Draco couldn't resist smiling.  
  
"What are you smiling at?" grunted Crabbe to his right.  
  
Draco snapped out of his daze immediately. "Nothing."  
  
Crabbe's attention was drawn away at that moment, and when Draco looked back at the table, he realized that Harry, Hermione and Ron had left the Hall already. Disappointment drenched him like someone throwing a bucket of iced water over his head. He tried to turn his attention to Pansy who was, as usual, flirting madly with any male at the table. She seemed in particular that day to be focusing on him, Draco. He really didn't want to have to put up with the simpering and the flattery, but knew he had to pretend to like what she was saying. He couldn't risk losing the friendship of the Slytherins. He needed that.  
  
--------------------------------------------  
  
Draco however, still had Harry's book. He wondered if Harry noticed it was missing. It was hiding flat beneath the mattress on his bed, keeping it out of sight of the other boys in his dorm who, for some reason, had been spending more time with him than usual lately. He was getting a bit wierded out by the Slytherins, and was finding it hard to get away for any alone time he might want. But every night, when all the other boys were asleep, Draco brought out the book and slept with it clasped safely and tightly in his arms – just for the comfort.  
  
The trip to Hogsmeade was cheering him up immensely. He always liked leaving the school and going to a town. There was so much more cheer in the cold seasons being in The Three Broomsticks or Honeydukes.  
  
Plus he might find time to run into Harry.  
  
This thought both thrilled and terrified him. He was not good with this type of thing. He'd had barely any relationships before, and the ones he had had, he'd always been the cold, mysterious, distant boyfriend that drove girls wild with desire and lust.  
  
This wasn't the sort of thing he could distance himself from. This was somehow different to all his other relationships. He had never had quite such a connection with anyone before, and this frightened him. To think what would happen if someone found out he fancied Harry Potter – the humiliation would be almost too much to bear.  
  
But then, if he did get to talk to Harry, there would be some good out of it. They might have enough time to talk about what they were going to do about their 'relationship', including discussing whether or not they were going to have one.  
  
---------------------------------------------------  
  
It was December 4th, quite close to Christmas, that they went to Hogsmeade. Harry had had half a mind to stay at school; he hadn't wanted to get his hopes up that he might talk to Malfoy. But if he hadn't gone, he certainly wouldn't have gotten to talk to Malfoy. So naturally, he went. He also had Christmas shopping to do for Ron, Hermione and the boys in his dormitory, along with Hagrid, Lupin and all his other friends out of Hogwarts. Maybe for once, he could get Malfoy out of his head.  
  
That wasn't so easy though – as soon as he got to Hogsmeade, he caught a glimpse of the blonde. His hair shone radiantly in the bright sunlight, and somehow, when it was contrasted against the brilliant white of the fallen snow, it just seemed even more captivating. He stood watching for a moment until Hermione shoved him in the back and ordered him to move.  
  
Draco had seen Harry as well. He'd looked smaller than usual in his long winter cloak, and his tanned skin was almost as pale as Draco's own. Harry didn't seem to enjoy the cold as much as Draco did.  
  
Draco was walking flanked by his two loyal followers: Crabbe and Goyle. They were guffawing about something stupid, as they always were, and Draco was getting thoroughly sick of being around them. He was seriously considering hexing them and leaving them there to freeze in the snow while he went off by himself.  
  
Standing at the top of the hillside was Pansy Parkinson, gesturing frantically at them to join her. Draco's stomach gave a lurch. Spending time with her was the last thing on his agenda – she was sickening with her constant flattery and giggling as she assured Draco that he was the most wonderful person ever invented. Ugh.  
  
Shrugging off any questions asked by Crabbe and Goyle, he arranged to meet them with Pansy back in the Three Broomsticks in an hour. He seriously needed some alone time.  
  
He was walking in the direction of the shops, but at the last moment, veered off into the trees. As he walked, he watched people walking along the street. His gaze was drawn immediately to the figures of Hermione, Ron and Harry, who were walking up and into Honeydukes. Watching Harry was enough to occupy him for hours, and he simply stopped and stared. His eyes took in the sight of Harry dropping a parcel on the ground and bending to pick it up. Harry paused a he took the object in his hand, and as though sensing someone watching him, looked towards where Draco was standing. Seeing Draco watching him was startling, and as he stood, he looked to where Hermione and Ron had already gone in, and then back to Draco. Neither mouthed any words to the other, it was enough to simply look.  
  
Even from the distance, Draco could make out Harry's expression. It was one of utmost rapture and captivation. The thought of this made him smile. He wanted to kill something when Hermione called Harry from the shop and broke the silent gaze between the two, but enjoyed the thrills that ran up and down his body when Harry smiled at him before turning away.  
  
He knew now that there was no regret in anything they had done – simply cowardice in that neither was courageous enough to talk to the other. He could remember almost every conversation he'd had with Harry, and got the most brilliant and sudden inspiration for what he could do for a Christmas present for Harry.  
  
---------------------------------------------------  
  
Harry was finding it extremely hard to pretend to be normal. His friends weren't gossips, but they didn't mind having a go at Malfoy. It was so difficult to sit there listening to his two best friends bitch about the boy he had kissed...what would they say if they knew?  
  
On their way back to school from Hogsmeade, Harry noticed a group of Slytherins standing by the wall. Draco, Crabbe and Goyle were part of the group. They were laughing and teasing each other in a friendly way that made Harry wish for a moment that he had decided to go in the Slytherin house in his first year – just so he had an excuse to talk and stand beside Draco Malfoy.  
  
As he looked up for a last quick glance as they passed, Harry saw a sixth year shove one of the innocent looking Hufflepuff first years standing adjacent to their group towards Harry, Ron and Hermione. The first year crashed into Ron, knocking him to the ground.  
  
Ron lay flat on the snow for a moment before lifting his head, which was covered in powdery white flakes. The Slytherins were howling with laughter, and even Harry was having trouble not laughing at the sight of Ron's eyebrows covered in white.  
  
The first year looked at Ron in horror and mumbled a quick apology before scrambling to his feet and scampering off, clearly fearing Ron's famous temper.  
  
Ron got to his feet and glared at Draco, who was standing closest to them.  
  
"Think it's funny to pick on first years, do you?" he said angrily.  
  
Draco was completely taken aback. "What are you talking about? I didn't push that kid into you."  
  
The other Slytherins were standing back and watching the exchange in glee – one thing that could definitely be said about Slytherins was that they weren't awfully courageous when it came to owning up to things they'd done that others were being blamed for. The Slytherin whose fault it was simply stood smirking.  
  
Ron rolled his eyes sarcastically. "You are so full of it, Malfoy. Can't you ever just give it a rest?"  
  
Hermione joined in. "That first year was really frightened! You're a prefect, Malfoy – set an example for once instead of acting like an insufferable git all the time."  
  
Draco was completely astonished. The one time he hadn't actually done anything, and they were standing up to him. What a surprise.  
  
"Listen, I didn't shove that first year into you, Weasel, though it was a good idea. And I certainly wasn't picking on anyone, no matter how hard you find that to believe." Draco regretted the good idea comment as soon as he'd said it. These were the friends of the person he liked – it might not be a fantastic move to snipe at them.  
  
Hermione snorted. "Oh, Malfoy. All you ever do is abuse your powers as a prefect. You're constantly ever picking on someone weaker, younger or in a less powerful position and it's sickening!" She stamped her foot in fury.  
  
Malfoy looked at Harry. Usually, he could hold his own in an argument against these people, but things were slightly different now he'd snogged one of them.  
  
"You're always abusing every right given to you, it's disgusting. Do you ever think about anyone except yourself?" Hermione raged on, glaring at Malfoy. He flicked his glance back to her before shrugging.  
  
"What's the matter, Ferret? Can't think of anything to say?" Ron trumpeted in glee. "Wouldn't be because you know we're right, would it?"  
  
Draco looked in desperation at Harry. Harry was completely bewildered. He knew Ron and Hermione were waiting for him to speak up and support them, but he couldn't – wouldn't - blame Malfoy for something he hadn't done, not now. He'd seen the sixth years shove the Hufflepuff, but he couldn't bring himself to speak truthfully; Ron and Hermione would find it very suspicious. He tried to shrink inside himself. Maybe if he looked really insignificant and hoped to god that they didn't ask him...  
  
"Come on Harry, you saw him, didn't you?" Hermione turned to him with the righteous look on her face that she always wore when she was in an argument and convinced she was right. Which was practically every argument she'd ever been in.  
  
"Um, he didn't actually..." Harry began nervously. He licked his lips and glanced over at Malfoy. It was hard standing up to his friends for someone they thought he hated, but after all, Malfoy was in the right.  
  
Ron and Hermione did not seem to have heard him, or perhaps they had decided they didn't like where his answer was going, because they turned away from him and back to Malfoy. Draco, however, had heard him and Harry wondered if he saw a hint of gratitude in those grey eyes as he risked a glance in the Slytherin's direction. He felt slightly heartened, but still he wished he was anywhere but there.  
  
"It's a good thing Harry got the position of Head Boy instead of you, Malfoy. Imagine what you would have been like!" Hermione continued. "You would have been taking points off left, right and centre, getting extensions on every assignment pretending to be having trouble with time because of your duties...at least Harry isn't high on himself!"  
  
"Guys..." Harry said awkwardly. He didn't want them bringing him into the argument.  
  
"That's right, Potter. Saint Potter, always playing the martyr." Pansy's voice came from behind them, sugary and venomous.  
  
"What do you want, Pansy?" snapped Hermione.  
  
"Just coming to see why we're all crowded around Draco," she said, smiling sweetly in a way that reminded Harry of Umbridge. For some reason, she seemed to be looking mainly at Ron.  
  
"Because your darling Draco is an arsehole," Ron said equally as sweetly, glaring straight back at her.  
  
"Shut up, Weasel," said Blaise Zabini curtly. "Malfoy's got a hundred times more decency than you'll ever have."  
  
"Decency? I'd hate to see what you thought was indecent!" Hermione said scornfully.  
  
"How dare you talk about decency, Granger? You don't even deserve to be here. You aren't worthy of our presence, Mudblood."  
  
This was the first time Pansy Parkinson had dared to voice her opinion of Hermione and people like her, and everyone stood for a moment in shock. Complete silence reigned, and then was broken by one of Pansy's friends trying and failing to suppress a giggle.  
  
"Take that back," Ron said angrily through gritted teeth.  
  
Pansy held her head high. "Why should I? She deserves to know the truth. Everyone agrees." She put her arm around Draco's shoulders and stroked the side of his face, oblivious to his discomfort. "Draco's the only one who's man enough to say it to her, normally."  
  
Ron glared at Draco for a moment. "That's because Draco is a priggish, disgusting, immoral and disillusioned moronic loser."  
  
Draco shook Pansy off him angrily. Ron Weasley was one person he'd never liked, and he liked him less than ever at that moment.  
  
"What is your problem, Weasel?"  
  
Ron smirked. "My problem is you, jerk." With one sudden movement, he balled his right fist and let his arm loose, colliding with the side of Draco's head.  
  
Malfoy collapsed to the ground and lay breathing heavily for a moment. He was aware of Ron straining to get another shot at him, and wondered why he wasn't being clobbered completely. He opened his eyes to see Harry holding both of Ron's arms and pulling him back and away from Draco with all his might.  
  
"Harry! What are you doing?! Let me go!" Ron growled, eager for another punch.  
  
"Ron – just leave him alone!" Harry panted. His own head was pounding, as though when Ron had punched Malfoy, he'd somehow hurt Harry as well. Draco was simply lying there on the snow, watching him struggle with Ron. He didn't look angry – in fact, he seemed to be sort of mesmerized by the sight of the three Gryffindors – like he'd finally figured out something that had been puzzling him for a while.  
  
Harry was jerked back by a violent pull from Ron as he strained to get back at Malfoy. Harry's blood grew hotter as he felt himself becoming more protective of Draco – he couldn't let Ron hurt him even if it meant causing suspicion in his two best friends. Hermione took Ron's hands and pulled him out of reach of Draco with Harry's help.  
  
"You cannot take this moment away from me," he whispered angrily to the pair of them.  
  
Hermione shook her head. "No, Ron, there are so many more of them than there are of you, and this way you can be remembered for punching him really well – imagine if you went in for a second shot and Malfoy beat you!"  
  
Ron thought for a second and finally stopped protesting. "Fine." Hermione brushed his coat and fussed over him for a moment in a motherly fashion, but Harry turned and watched the Slytherins fussing over Draco.  
  
Draco seemed embarrassed, understandably, and was brushing off the attempts of his friends to wipe snow off his long black coat. His gaze slowly turned to Harry, and he didn't seem like the proud, pure-blood obsessed prat he had been before. Instead, Harry saw just another teenage boy like himself, looking humiliated and small. Sort of...fragile.  
  
"Guys – let's go," Harry murmured, not able to take it any longer. He just wanted to be out of there, away from Draco. It was too much temptation, and he didn't know how much longer he could stop himself from reaching out and hugging the boy, trying to make the humiliation and pain go away.  
  
"What are you staring at, Ferret?" Ron snapped, aware that Draco was still looking at Harry.  
  
Harry took Ron's arm. "Just leave them alone, Ron. Let's just go."  
  
Hermione looked from Harry to Draco and back again, confusion evident in her expression. There was something going on here – she wasn't sure what, but something about the relationship between these two boys had changed. They no longer seemed to hate each other as much as they used to – if at all.  
  
"Hermione, come on," Harry urged. She snapped back to reality and took Ron's other arm, pulling him away from the Slytherins.  
  
Ron allowed himself to be led away, but couldn't resist glaring at Draco as he went. "You're lucky Harry is such a decent bloke, or else you'd be in serious pain right now Malfoy!" he called angrily.  
  
"Ron, just drop it, okay?" Harry said.  
  
"What was up with you back there, Harry?" Ron asked. "You didn't say a word! You hate Malfoy just as much as the rest of us. Why didn't you let him have it?"  
  
Harry shrugged uneasily.  
  
"God I hate him," Ron fumed. "He's a low-life, pathetic, useless moron with absolutely no brains. Did you see him back there?! He didn't even have the brains to try and back himself up!"  
  
Hermione nodded thoughtfully. "And that was the first time he's ever not called any of us names."  
  
Ron stared furiously at Harry. "Harry, what is wrong with you? Say something!"  
  
Harry started. "Oh – um...yeah, he's a real jerk." His lack of enthusiasm wasn't lost on Hermione, but Ron seemed to be satisfied.  
  
"One day, I'll get him," Ron promised them.  
  
Hermione patted him tenderly on the back. "You just did, Ron."  
  
Ron grinned victoriously. "I did, didn't I? And he didn't even try to punch back. Wimp."  
  
Harry smiled to himself. Draco might have thought that Harry didn't notice his sudden change in attitude towards Ron and Hermione – but Harry wasn't blind.  
  
And as he watched Harry retreat with his hand firmly grasping Ron's elbow, Draco smiled to himself. Harry had risked losing face with his friends by restraining Ron and protecting Draco – confirming what he'd been wondering since that rainy night so long ago.  
  
Harry did care.  
  
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TBC  
  
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A/N: Well! That was also astoundingly hard. I really hope you all appreciate these chapters, cos they're taking heaps of work! :P I had to get my friend Mousie to help me. I must credit her – Mousie, who doesn't even like fanfiction and certainly doesn't like Harry/Draco slash, gave me her help in finishing and editing this chapter. So applaud Mousie please!!!!  
  
Thanks to my reviewers! They are as follows:  
  
RoninDaiymo: Fair enough. I'm glad I make it work, but you know, there are lots of other writers that make it work much better than me!!! But thanks anyway, your compliments are gratefully received and are swelling my ego nicely. Thanks for reading and reviewing!  
  
SilverDragon161: I'm glad you liked it! It took ages to get it right. This chapter took even longer, so I hope you still like it. This chapter was actually kinda boring, but the next one they're going to get more mushy, promise!  
  
Kazillion: hehehe. I like making people happy! The next installment is here....dum da da dum! Hope you like it!  
  
December jewel: you're not even registered on ff.net, and you still follow my story! I like you! You're my friend now. :D It was kinda cute, wasn't it? They make a great couple. Anyway, hope you continue to like the story!  
  
HPAZN: Okay, after our emailing session, I decided that I would leave out them getting sick and wait for that later after some more things had happened. In the next couple of chapters, you will get your wish, I promise. But for now, the suspense will hold you to my story (I hope!!!) Please keep reading, I hope you still like it!  
  
Piper13: I like your thinking! You're probably right, too. :P Anyway, thanks! Bali was great, there were some lovely people there! ;) And here is your new chapter, I hope you like it still. Keep reading, I love getting your reviews! :D:D:D:D:D  
  
Evil Pilgrim: Thank you for your one – two – three – four – FIVE reviews! Wow! I feel so special. Thanks for your input, and to answer your question, the Death Eaters wouldn't take underage wizards because they probably wouldn't be good enough. They might take some if they thought they were good enough, like Draco might be an exception, but either way...you know what I mean.  
  
Marsky: Thank you! I'm glad you love it! I had several versions of this chapter too, but I think this one worked best. There'll be more lovey-dovey stuff to come, though, don't you worry!!!! I hope your computer behaves itself!  
  
KatjaMarianne: But what fun would it be if there weren't difficulties? :P They won't be too tortured...unless I'm feeling particularly vindictive. Ooooh, I like that word. :P Anyway, I'm glad you liked this chapter, I liked writing it too! They'll continue moving soon, so don't give up on me please!!!! Keep reading and enjoying! :D:D:D:D  
  
Thanks to you all, you're lovely and special and here are some hugz to all of you: hugz  
  
Everyone else – please review, they mean so much to me!!!!!


	9. Narnia

Title: Like a Fairytale  
  
Author: Stardrops  
  
Genre: Romance  
  
Rating: PG 13: Some violence and slash, precautions only.  
  
Summary: Faced with difficult decisions about his future, Draco forms some unlikely friendships. A passionate romance is sparked – but is not as secret as he supposed. Someone is stalking Draco at Hogwarts – suddenly, protecting himself and Harry is more complicated than he imagined.  
  
Disclaimer: Obviously I don't own Harry Potter, so I don't have to write any clichéd things here about that. But I should also state that Narnia was not created by me, and that it belongs solely to C.S.Lewis. And I need to acknowledge the assistance of two friends: Mousie again and Caitlyn (or Rigella, as her fanfiction screenname is) both assisted in this chapter. Please thank them!  
  
Chapter Nine: Narnia  
  
Christmas morning dawned – a beautiful sunshine reflecting colours off the white snow carpeting the Hogwarts grounds. Harry stood at the window of his dormitory and surveyed the surroundings. It was the perfect setting for Christmas Day – but he seemed to be the only person in the entire school who was awake.  
  
The other boys who shared his dormitory were fast asleep, Neville's usual snores filling the room. Ron grunted and rolled over on his bed – and promptly fell off the side and landed on the floor with a painful thump.  
  
Harry swallowed a laugh as Ron blearily opened his eyes and murmured, "Ouch. That hurt."  
  
"You all right?" Harry asked, laughter still threatening to break through.  
  
Ron glared at him as though it had somehow been his fault. Dusting off his throbbing shoulder, he asked, "How long have you been up?"  
  
"A while."  
  
Ron caught sight of the usual display of presents at the foot of his bed. "Oh, score!" His exclamation woke the other boys. Ron scrambled around trying to get up from the tangle of blankets in which he was only just visible. This brought amusement to his roommates, who were laughing as they eagerly snatched their presents and began to rip off the paper.  
  
Amidst calls of 'Merry Christmas' from one end of the room to the other and wild ripping of paper and ribbon flying everywhere, Harry found his bed and began to open his own presents. He was much quieter than the others, who were excitedly comparing their new belongings.  
  
There was a large pile at the foot of his bed, but as he hopefully sifted through the pile, his heart fell. There was no card from Draco.  
  
Forcing a smile onto his face, he reached for the parcel Ron had given him. He couldn't expect anything from Draco – he hadn't sent a card to him either. But it wasn't so much the fact that he hadn't gotten anything from him, it was more the absence of any connection between them. Sort of as though receiving something from Draco would assure him that what had happened wasn't a dream, that it was real. He was having serious troubles convincing himself that he hadn't just imagined it.  
  
Ron was watching him. Harry noticed this just in time, and managed to put on a delighted smile as the present he'd received from Ron emerged from the wrapping. Ron had given him a huge box of Chocolate Frogs and a Chess Set with figurines of Quidditch players instead of the usual knights, bishops and so on. It was great – but for some reason Harry had trouble feeling enthusiastic. He shoved this aside though and punched Ron gratefully.  
  
"Thanks man! They're great!"  
  
Ron smiled. "Yeah, thought they'd be more fun than that bloody queen who's always telling you off for moving to bad places. Now you can listen to the Chudley Cannons telling you off instead."  
  
Harry poked his tongue out at Ron playfully and grinned as he watched the picture on the front of the box moving about.  
  
-----------------------------------  
  
Late that afternoon, Hermione, Ron and Harry were all sitting in the common room talking and laughing. There were an unusually large number of students staying at Hogwarts for Christmas – the common room was rather full.  
  
Ron and Hermione were playing a game of chess while Harry watched. Hermione was doing rather well – indeed, Harry wondered if Ron might be letting her win. He'd noticed more than ever lately the growing interest each had in the other, shy glances they passed in classes and private jokes they shared. Harry was happy for both of them, and didn't even mind that he was being left out of a considerable amount in their friendship. He had his own love life troubles to worry about.  
  
He got up and walked to the window. Staring out into the swirling snow, he sighed. He'd not seen Draco all day – he wasn't even sure if Draco was still at Hogwarts. For all he knew, Draco might have gone home, or to the house of one of his Slytherin friends.  
  
His gaze was drawn to a moving figure in the snow below the window. There was someone standing there, cloaked in black with a green scarf pulled tightly around their throat. Harry's heart lifted as he recognized the silvery blonde hair blowing about in the slight wind. He fought to keep a smile off his face as he watched Draco Malfoy walk slowly by himself through the snow.  
  
As though he sensed someone was watching him, he turned and looked up to the Gryffindor Tower. He was too far to see whom the person standing at the window was, but he could definitely see the outline of someone standing watching him from above. On the slight possibility that it might be Harry, he chanced a small smile at whoever was looking at him. He was sure it was Harry. It couldn't be anyone else – no one would be watching so intently.  
  
Back up in the tower, Harry caught the smile that Draco sent. His hands touched the window pane which was cold from the frost outside, sliding down the glass until they dropped once again to his side.  
  
"Harry?" Ron said, looking at him concernedly. "Are you all right?"  
  
He jumped back from the window, startled. "Oh – yes. Yes, I'm fine." Hermione watched him silently, one eyebrow slightly raised as Harry walked to the door of the common room.  
  
"Where are you going?" Ron asked.  
  
Harry turned for a moment. "Just outside. I'll be back soon." He opened the portrait hole and climbed out before they could ask any more questions of him.  
  
Hermione and Ron looked at each other in bewilderment. "Have you noticed anything slightly...odd about Harry lately?" Ron asked Hermione.  
  
She shrugged. "It's probably just the stress of being Head Boy getting to him. It's not easy to have all these extra duties piled on as well as having to cope with the workload. It's bound to make him a little edgy."  
  
Ron nodded, satisfied with the explanation. He leant over the chessboard, thinking hard. Hermione watched the top of his head with a frown. Her excuses didn't fool her quite as well as they fooled Ron. There was definitely something going on that Harry wasn't telling them.  
  
------------------------------------------------  
  
Down on the grounds, Draco blinked. The figure was suddenly gone from the window. The tower looked strangely deserted now, more lonely and dark. Firelight spilled out of the window, but it didn't look cheerful to Draco anymore. Sighing, he lifted his feet and trudged along his on little path on the snow. He didn't know where he was going, but he couldn't bear being inside with the Slytherins any longer. He'd spent almost the whole day wondering where Harry was and what he was doing, and he couldn't put up with the Slytherins constantly asking him what he was thinking about.  
  
The crunch of a footstep on snow alerted him to the presence of a stranger behind him. Convinced it was Crabbe, Goyle or Pansy, Draco was torn between deciding to ignore them or turning around and yelling. He was about to continue on his way, pretending he hadn't noticed their presence when the person spoke.  
  
"Merry Christmas."  
  
The voice was soft and low, a sweet tenor pitch ringing out in the deserted white world. Draco turned to see Harry Potter standing completely still before him. Warmth spread through Draco's body, heating him from his toes to his cheeks, which he knew had turned slightly pink.  
  
"Hello, Potter," he replied. Harry smiled.  
  
"What are you doing out here? It's so cold." Harry wrapped his arms tightly around himself. Draco watched him silently for a moment, and then turned to continue on his route.  
  
"Come with me," he said softly. Harry paused for a moment and then quickly stepped up to walk beside Draco.  
  
"Where are we going?" he asked, looking around them. The school was far behind them, and there was nothing around them but trees and bushes covered in snow.  
  
"I've got a surprise for you," Draco replied, a cryptic smile playing about the corners of his mouth. Harry grinned uncertainly.  
  
"A surprise? Out here?" Harry looked around again. They were walking past the entrance to the Forbidden Forest and into a thick cluster of evergreen trees. Not another soul could be seen.  
  
Draco didn't reply, and the pair walked in silence through the trees and into the center of a clearing. There they stopped.  
  
Draco smiled at the puzzled expression on Harry's face. He took one of Harry's bare hands in his own, surprised at just how cold Harry's skin was. "Think of one very happy thought," he instructed Harry.  
  
Harry blinked thrice, racking his brains for a happy thought. His gaze fell on his hand joined with Draco's, and his insides warmed straight away. He smiled at Draco, who was watching him intently. Draco nodded towards the trees behind Harry.  
  
He turned, his eyes widening in astonishment. One of the tree's trunks had transformed to form the shape of two doors, like a wardrobe. The golden handles shone against the dark bark of the door, urging Harry to walk forward and open them. He looked to Draco, who released Harry's hand and again nodded towards the door, silently instructing Harry to open them.  
  
Harry took several slow steps towards the doors, his hand tingling from the cold air hitting the skin where another person's warmth had rested only a few seconds before. His other hand closed around a handle and he pulled.  
  
The doors swung open to reveal a wardrobe with fur coats hanging up. Harry turned with a quizzical expression to Draco, who'd walked forward as well to stand beside his companion.  
  
"What is it?" Harry asked.  
  
Draco lifted a hand and brushed some snow off the coat closest to him. Pulling the hangers aside so there was space between the thick fur coats, he waited for Harry to walk through. Harry ran his hands over the soft fur, then took a breath and a few steps through the coats, shivering in the dark of the closet.  
  
"Malfoy, there's nothing here," he called out. No reply came, and Harry noticed that the floor of the wardrobe did not seem to be made of wood. There was something crunching beneath his footsteps – but surely no one would have a wardrobe with a snowy floor?  
  
He held out a hand, his fingers expecting to touch the wood of the back wall. But for some reason, the back of the closet did not seem to be there. Ahead of him was a light, and he realized he seemed to be walking along a corridor instead of a wardrobe. He quickened his pace and walked through into the other side of the trees.  
  
His eyes widened and a small sigh escaped him. Draco emerged from the corridor as well and looked at him anxiously.  
  
"What do you think?" he asked.  
  
Harry didn't reply straight away, he was too busy absorbing the sight. It looked exactly like the Hogwarts grounds had, except for one thing.  
  
A single lantern stood a few feet from them, the pole frosted with ice. Light shone in a ring around the lamppost and Harry watched it in wonder before turning his gaze once more to Draco.  
  
"You created Narnia?" he whispered  
  
Draco walked to the bushes and peered over it, motioning for Harry to do the same. He took a deep breath and stood on the very tips of his toes to see what Draco was looking at.  
  
The faun, Tumnus from the tales of Narnia stood with his parcels tucked beneath his arm, perfectly sculpted from ice. A little ice flute was held in his hand. And to the right, there stood a magnificent sledge drawn by reindeer as small as Shetland ponies. Upon the sledge sat a fat dwarf, driving the ponies, and in the sledge sat a beautiful, grand lady, her lovely face carved to perfection in the icy crystals.  
  
Harry gasped as he looked at the scene. How detailed everything was – how much effort Draco had gone to.  
  
"You made this?" he asked, his voice slightly hoarse.  
  
Draco shrugged. "I remembered you saying that this was your favourite story, so...I tried to recreate it." He looked down at his hands. "It's not perfect."  
  
Harry interrupted Draco. "It is. It's brilliant."  
  
Draco looked up with a small smile. "So you like it, then?"  
  
Harry grinned and pulled Draco towards him. "I love it." His arms slipped around Draco's waist and held him close. Draco let out a shaky breath and settled against Harry's firm frame.  
  
"Thank you," whispered Harry.  
  
Draco kissed Harry's cheek. He took one of Harry's hands and pulled him past the reindeer drawing the carriage.  
  
Standing through the trees were more of the animals from the story. The beavers were carved in mid clap, sitting on a log by the bank. Centaurs, unicorns and deer stood in a circle around a large stone table with a huge crack down the center. And right at the head of the table was a huge lion, his mouth open in a roar forever captured in a perfect monument.  
  
"Aslan," Harry breathed. He turned to Draco who was grinning at Harry's obvious delight. "You really did think of everything, didn't you?"  
  
Draco shrugged.  
  
Harry returned his gaze to the scene. He looked into the sky and saw little statues of bird in flight, hanging like beautiful glass figurines, suspended magically from the sky.  
  
"Oh..." Harry said softly. He could even see the details on the birds feathers and faces, though they were so far away. He turned to Draco and smile. "You're so talented at art."  
  
Draco smirked. "Have to be good at something, don't I?"  
  
"Don't be stupid, Malfoy, you already are good at so many things."  
  
Draco shrugged. "Well then, here's one more thing to add to the list."  
  
They wandered around the clearing together for half an hour, Harry occasionally stopping to admire the carefully detailing Draco had done on some of the creatures.  
  
"How long did it take you to do them?" Harry asked.  
  
Draco tilted his head up and flicked his hair carelessly out of his eyes. "Not too long...maybe about a week?" he said disinterestedly, as though it was really nothing.  
  
Harry smiled at the boy. "Well, they're just awesome. But – what's going to happen when we leave?"  
  
"Well – they're magical ice statues, so they'll never melt. And as long as you know where to go, and you remember to think of something very happy, you'll be able to get in here again. No one else will possibly follow us, they wouldn't think to go into the evergreen forest."  
  
Or so he thought.  
  
There was someone there, in fact. Someone was in Narnia with them. Walking so quietly that neither boy could hear. Staying a long distance away, covered by snow covered bushes and low branches that kept them from sight.  
  
Someone was stalking Draco.  
  
----------------------------------------  
  
Draco and Harry were walking back towards the wardrobe, as it was getting close to dusk and neither fancied being out in the snow at night.  
  
"Malfoy?" Harry asked quietly.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"This is absolutely beautiful, you know, but – but – I didn't get you anything for Christmas," Harry admitted.  
  
Draco chuckled and shook his head. "I don't need a card or a gift, Potter."  
  
"But you went to all this trouble." Harry looked miserable.  
  
Draco's heart went out to the boy. "Potter, it's not important. I didn't expect anything from you, and I still don't. And the only thing I wanted from you isn't something tangible anyway." As soon as he'd said this, he wished he'd kept his mouth firmly shut. How stupid could he have been? He didn't want to tell Harry how he felt – or did he?  
  
Harry stopped walking and took one of Draco's hands. "What did you want?"  
  
Draco tugged on Harry's hand and tried to keep him moving. "It doesn't matter – the point is that I didn't expect nor want you to get me anything for Christmas." His cheeks were suspiciously pink.  
  
Harry watched him. "Why did you create this for me?"  
  
Draco gave up trying to pull Harry – the boy was obviously just as strong as he was, and didn't seem to want to leave just yet. "Why do you think? It's Christmas, I wanted to do something for you that you'd like, and this came to mind."  
  
The light from the lamppost picked up the different hues of pink surfacing in Draco's cheeks. Harry couldn't help smiling at how little and cute Draco looked when he blushed. He reached out a hand and brushed his fingers along the bones in Draco's cheeks. Draco felt the feather light touch running along his face and tried as hard as he could to keep himself from collapsing. His stomach was fluttering and his head seemed to be getting lighter by the moment.  
  
"What are we?" Harry asked, his low voice wavering slightly.  
  
Draco looked up at Harry through long, pale eyelashes, enviously admiring Harry's own, curly dark lashes fringing clear, vivid green eyes behind the glasses he always wore. This conversation was becoming awfully deep and meaningful – something Draco was not very good at being. He shrugged and tried to look uninterested, though he knew it probably wasn't working. "What do you want us to be?"  
  
"It's going to be weird being friends with all the tension between our houses," Harry noted.  
  
Draco smirked. "It's going to be weird being friends when we've already gone a lot further than most friends do – obviously with the exception of your dear Weasel and Granger."  
  
Harry smiled nervously. "That only happened once though." His head was pounding with the thoughts, 'let it happen again,' running through over and over, desperate to be uttered.  
  
Draco shook back his hair once more and thought for a second before speaking to clarify his thoughts. "So if it happened again, we'd be well across the line between friendship and – well – more than friendship?"  
  
Harry lifted his index finger again and this time traced Draco's jaw. "It could be so much more," he answered softly.  
  
This took Draco completely aback. He'd never expected Harry to be quite so forward ... Harry had always seemed like a rather shy guy when it came to romance.  
  
Little did he know that Harry's heart was pounding incredibly loudly and rapidly at the daring of what he had just said. Usually he shied away from any emotional displays because he wasn't good at any of them except anger. But there was just something about Draco now ... after the gift he'd given Harry ... he just didn't want to let anything dissolve between them now that he had such a good chance to make something of their relationship.  
  
For a moment, there was silence as the two boys digested the seriousness of what they were about to enter. There was so much at stake for both boys – but so much at stake if they didn't take the chance now as well.  
  
Draco took a deep breath and let it out slowly. His gaze rested upon Harry's face, so childlike and innocent beneath the tough exterior, simply wanting what Draco secretly desired as well.  
  
He felt himself give up his attempt at blanking his face. It was somewhat of a relief; acting completely unconcerned with the world and what was happening was beginning to be quite an effort, and allowing himself to show something of what he felt was a rather large step. His voice was quiet and yet full of suppressed emotion. "Then let it be."  
  
Harry's other hand met Draco's cheek and rested there for a moment. Draco's eyes met Harry's and they watched each other in wonder as their faces neared. His eyes closed as he felt Harry's breath on his lips.  
  
"Merry Christmas," Harry whispered. Closing his own eyes, he gently touched his lips to Draco's. It was like the touch of velvet upon velvet as they closed their arms around each other and stood together in bliss.  
  
--------------------------------------  
  
Not too far away, someone was watching them in astonishment. Sneaking off back through the wardrobe, they took one last look at the happy pair before disappearing from sight.  
  
--------------------------------------  
  
Draco pulled away from Harry. He smiled, looking upon the blushing and still beautiful face of Harry Potter. "This is the best Christmas present I've ever gotten," he whispered to Harry, brushing back the long messy hair that surrounded Harry's face and reached almost to his neck.  
  
Harry smiled tenderly at Draco. Lifting his hands, he cupped Draco's face and kissed the blonde's forehead. Trailing the kisses down the side of Draco's head, Harry reached the cheek and stopped for a second.  
  
"Can you hear that?" he asked, hesitating. There was the sound of wings, mixed with the sound of twittering.  
  
Draco and Harry looked around. All about them, the forest was coming to life. The statues still stood proud and beautiful in the light, but they were no longer in a silent world of white and glass. Birds all around them were chirping and flittering from tree to tree; squirrels were bounding up and down. There were real deer staring in confusion at their crystal look- alikes.  
  
Harry laughed. "Is this your doing as well?" he asked.  
  
Draco's usual scowling or sneering expression was completely gone. In its place was a boy seeing the beauty of nature, and loving it. Harry watched the transformation and smiled.  
  
"I didn't do this part," Draco told Harry. "This is nature."  
  
"And it's still beautiful," Harry replied, looking once more to where a cheeky squirrel was nibbling at Aslan's ear.  
  
Over their heads, they heard fluttering, and looked up. A red robin was flying slowly over them, holding a sprig of mistletoe in its beak. Harry looked at it and then smiled at Draco.  
  
Draco shrugged. "Well, you can't break tradition." He leaned forward and caught Harry in another kiss that blew every other thought straight out of his mind.  
  
Snow was falling around them, floating to rest on their black winter cloaks, but neither boy minded at all. Their bodies were pressed together, exchanging body heat and conserving warmth. Their fingers were warmed as their hands joined, their fingers lacing and tightly holding each other close. And as they kissed in the white snow-covered world, there was nothing that could bring either of them down from their fairytale.  
  
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TBC  
  
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A/N: Well – there we go. sniffle Wasn't that cute? I know it's probably the shortest chapter yet, but I figured I might as well put it up anyway, so review and tell me what you thought. Please? Give any ideas for what you want to happen, because later there might not be the chance to put forward your ideas when the story gets more focused. Any suggestions will be taken into account, especially yours, HpAzn!  
  
Thank you so so much to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, you're all angels. I love you all so much.

kazillon: yay! i heart you back! well, im really glad to have made your heart flutter! :P now i consider that a compliment! hope this chapter kept you pumping!

JWGrey: Thank you for your reviews! aren't they adorable?! And it was your comment that made me work so hard and get other people to help with this chapter just for you - i hope since it wasn't rushed its not crap. review and let me know!

december jewel: well, you know Ron! we fanfic people loooooooove messing with him. its so much fun! thank you for your review, im really glad you're enjoying the 'sweetness'! :)

Angel-Wings6: Thanks! Here's your next chapter - hope you like it!

Rigella: Well, now you need to clap yourself for helping! Thanks for all the help, and especially for your compliments! :P love you gal!

yamimoukin: well thank you! hope you enjoy the update!

Angel: Thanks! I wrote more, here you go! I hope you continue to like my stories!

Piper13: I think you are my favourite reviewer on ! You always boost my ego and i love getting your comments in hotmail. Thanks again!

SilverDragon161: Wow....thank you! Don't i feel special! My ego is nice and boosted now! Thanks!


	10. Lucius's Threat

Title: Like a Fairytale

Author: Stardrops

Genre: Romance

Rating: PG 13: Some violence and slash, precautions only.

Summary: Faced with difficult decisions about his future, Draco forms some unlikely friendships. A passionate romance is sparked – but is not as secret as he supposed. Someone is stalking Draco at Hogwarts – suddenly, protecting himself and Harry is more complicated than he imagined.

Chapter Ten: Lucius's Threat

Draco lay on his bed, still fully clothed, kicking his shoes against the curtain as he looked up at the ceiling with a little smile on his face. He'd just had a wonderful Christmas Day. It was still the afternoon, but he was rather content just to sit here and remember how wonderful the day had been.

The smile slowly faded from his face as he remembered the beginning of the day. How he'd woken with his Slytherin friends gleefully showing off their gifts only to realize he'd been sent almost nothing. It was as though everyone had forgotten that he existed. None of his Slytherin buddies had given him a card, save one. Blaise Zabini was the only person in the entire Slytherin house who'd gotten him a present – a beautiful Muggle book with gorgeous pictures of mythical creatures – a subject that Draco secretly adored. He'd never realized anyone had noticed his secret love for a subject so obviously studied and concentrated on by Muggles, but Blaise had surprised him.

Something he'd not thought anything of this morning surfaced in his mind. The significant absence of even a card from his mother and father was undeniably strong. Swallowing hard, he tried to convince himself that it did not matter in the slightest. He'd not sent them anything either.

It was just like his father to 'forget' to send him a card or a note at Christmas. He had the sneakiest ways of destroying people.

He shook his head and tried to think again of Narnia. It still brought warmth to his heart to think of Harry.

A knock came at the door. Draco sat up as quick as lightening. "Yes?" he called hoarsely.

Crabbe entered. "Hey mate," he answered. "We haven't seen you much today."

Draco lay back down on his pillows, in his mind cursing Crabbe for interrupting his solitude.

Crabbe stood awkwardly waiting for a reply. Draco lay still and offered none, leaving Crabbe feeling rather stupid.

"Uh ... we're having a Slytherin party down in the common room. There's only about eight of us. Want to come?" Crabbe asked, shuffling his feet and glancing anxiously towards the door.

Draco thought for a moment. Knowing Crabbe and Goyle, the variety of sweets and cakes that would be being served was likely to be grand, and he wasn't doing himself any favours by lying down on his bed by himself and thinking about his family. He looked at Crabbe who was glancing hopefully at him. "Yeah, all right."

Crabbe beamed and left the room. Draco groaned and rubbed his hands across his eyes. He'd only been in here for a while, but it felt like he'd just woken up. It must have been all the excitement and anticipation of that afternoon – but he was feeling really rather drowsy.

Sliding out of his robes, he pulled on a jumper which was slightly more comfortable, and splashed some cold water on his face from his wand. It had the desired effect of waking him up, but also the undesired effect of dampening his clothes and trickling water down his sleeves. Muttering in disgust, Draco attempted a drying spell, and when he'd gotten most of his clothes done, he descended to the Slytherin common room.

Crabbe, Goyle, Blaise, Pansy and four other Slytherins from the years below them were seated around the table in the centre of the room, lounging around on the sofas. Pansy saw him enter and sat upright with a huge smile on her face.

"Draco!" she called out joyfully. Draco cringed. Looking quickly around to assure himself that there was no mistletoe or anything around her, he joined her at the sofa, wondering why everyone seemed so glad to see him today. The Slytherins had been acting oddly since he'd first arrived back from the summer holidays, but this was just queer. They'd used to worship the ground he stood on, but now they simply behaved like children hoping to be taught lessons in life from an older brother or sister. Draco exhaled impatiently when Pansy beamed at him and handed him a chocolate muffin.

"Where have you been all day, Draco?" asked Blaise. "You disappeared after breakfast and I didn't see you again."

Draco shrugged. "Out."

Blaise rolled his eyes and grinned at Draco. Come to think of it, Blaise was the only one who seemed to be treating Draco normally. Maybe there was a sane person in the house apart from himself.

Pansy, however, seemed not content with this answer. "Seriously, Draco, we were looking for you. Where did you go?"

Draco took a huge bite of his muffin to delay the time before he had to answer by chewing every morsel thoroughly. This only brought more attention to him, though, and by the time he'd swallowed, everyone around the table was waiting for his answer.

"I went for a walk," he snapped. This behavior was simply bringing back the old Draco – the snobby, stuck up Draco that he hadn't been since he and Harry had been in detention together. Maybe being with Harry was going to be a good influence on him. Or maybe it was a bad influence. Draco wasn't entirely sure. Being the old Draco meant that he got what he wanted and that people were either afraid of him, or they worshiped him. But being Harry's friend meant that he became more human. He started to realize that there was more to life than simply ordering people about and being rich. And he started to realize how lonely life could be without people who truly care for you.

One thing he was always jealous of when it came to Harry was Harry's friends. Hermione and Ron cared so much about Harry – they would do anything to ensure his safety and happiness, and the way they always joked around together make them so close that Draco nearly smashed his fist into the nearest window every time he saw it. Crabbe and Goyle were good blokes. They were fun, if not a little stupid, and they didn't mind having a man-to-man conversation now and again to discuss issues with girls and school and teachers and so forth. But he knew as well as they did that the moment it came to safety, Crabbe and Goyle would always look after themselves and leave others behind, regardless of whether they would survive on their own or not. And that was the way Draco had been once. His primary concern had always been himself.

But since he'd come to Hogwarts, he'd seen Harry's courage in everything. He'd heard about it when Voldemort had threatened him in their first year. The Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets hadn't stopped Harry from going in to save his best friend's sister. In their third year, he'd ridden a bloody Hippogriff because his mate Hagrid would have looked stupid in front of his entire class otherwise, and in fourth year he'd been in the Triwizard Tournament, even though he'd been so young and hadn't the same experience as the others. He'd seen a fellow student die, watched Lord Voldemort come back to life and nearly been killed himself. Draco didn't think he could have stood that himself – he had of course met Lord Voldemort several times, and each time he'd been terrified. And then there was fifth year, when Harry had watched his own godfather die. After all Harry had told him on the train about the Dursleys, Draco was surprised that Harry had coped so well. Or seemed to at least.

Then last year. Draco shivered at the memory. His own father had joined a gang of Death Eaters that had attacked the Weasley home, not realising that Harry was staying with Ron at the time. The two boys fended off the Death Eaters and Harry himself duelled with Draco's father before the Death Eaters retreated.

Voldemort of course had not faced during that battle. His intentions were simply to kill those whom Harry loved.

Draco was reminded of the house he'd been brought to in the summer. He wondered what it was. It didn't fit his fathers scornful description of the Weasley home, so it must have been somewhere different.

A painful memory surfaced, how irritatingly suspicious Draco had been when Harry had first taken him into that house. How he wished he'd trusted Harry right from the beginning, things would have been so much simpler – not to mention much less awkward. He remembered with a half cringe and half smile how he and Harry had been so embarrassed to be doing detention together, and again marvelled at the attraction between them.

Harry certainly was one of a kind. He'd shown courage in so many events that Draco didn't know he himself would have been able to survive. Maybe that made Harry a bigger or better person than himself.

"Draco?" Pansy's voice jerked him out of his thoughts.

"What?" he replied irritably.

"Have a chocolate." She held out a brilliantly wrapped chocolate to him. He took it and looked around. No one else was eating them, but wrappers littered the table around him, giving the impression that everyone had already had one when he'd been absorbed in his thoughts. Shrugging, he took one and ate it.

He didn't see the sly nods and smiles exchanged between Crabbe, Goyle and Pansy as he chewed down on the chocolate.

-------------------------------------------

Draco was in his room after the party. It had ended rather quickly, he thought, and he'd gone up to bed straight away. His drowsiness had really taken over.

As he lay on the bed, he ran his tongue over the roof of his mouth. He'd eaten another of the brightly wrapped chocolates before leaving, and it had left a rather strange aftertaste. They'd made his head spin slightly and for a moment he wondered if they might have been alcoholic chocolates. With this last thought, he slipped off to sleep.

_He was back home again. A figure stood with his back turned, apparently staring down at the desk in his study where they'd been arguing the last time Draco had ever been in his home. A shudder rang through him as he looked at his father. Those grey eyes, paler than Draco's but almost as expressive, were glowing fiercely with anger. _

"_Father," he said, his usually steady voice quivering slightly and faltering upon the last syllable of his utterance. His father had never looked at him like that before – like he furiously hated everything about the boy who stood before him. Draco hesitated momentarily before bowing his head slightly out of politeness, an old fashioned courtesy his parents had always insisted upon. _

"_Do not call me father," Lucius hissed, cold eyes still burning. "You are no son of mine."_

_Draco stood with his head facing straight down, his eyes were wide and frightened as he looked at his father from beneath his eyelashes as Lucius spoke once more._

"_Life is not a fantasy, Draco. Love is not a fairytale. Do not treat either as though it were."_

_Draco involuntarily trembled. That could only be referring to one thing. But ... it couldn't possibly be. His father had no way of knowing. No one knew. It was a secret between himself and Harry. For a moment, he felt himself panicking and wildly wondering if Harry might have secretly been informing Lucius of what Draco had been up to at school before catching himself and realizing that such thoughts were completely ridiculous._

"_What do you mean?" He managed to keep his voice empty, his expression blank. But he knew his eyes would be giving away how frightened he felt. He could manage to tame his eyes to look blank and dull to everyone else, but for some reason, his father always seemed to know exactly how he was feeling._

"_Do not fool with me. I know what you are doing at Hogwarts. I am warning you now Draco," Lucius's voice lowered to almost a whisper. Draco nearly had to strain to hear it. "I can use you. I have ways to use you in our army without you even knowing."_

"_What are you talking about?" Draco said, abandoning all attempts at sounding unconcerned. His father meant business._

"_Potter ..." whispered Lucius, eyes narrowed and triumph apparent in his wicked expression. "I know you feel for him."_

_Draco's stomach clenched. How did his father know?_

_Lucius seemed to know what he was thinking and smiled knowingly. "Oh yes. I have spies within Hogwarts itself. People aren't as blind as you think they are." _

_He stood suddenly and Draco barely managed to stop himself from stepping back in surprise. Lucius swept around the front of the desk and Draco shivered at the cold gleam in his father's eye. _

"_Did you honestly think no one would notice you've changed? Sneaking about, becoming **humble, **and **selfless **..." Lucius's voice dripped with mockery. "Associating ... even **bonding,** with ... the wrong people ..." he turned his back on his terrified son and clicked his tongue slightly, like he did when a younger Draco had done something wrong, and was being shamed._

"_What ..." Draco tried to speak, but his father cut him off._

"_Potter, of all people ... I honestly never expected you to stoop so low."_

"_Father, what are you talking about?" the desperation in Draco's voice was clear even to him. "I don't understand!"_

"_Honestly, Draco!" Lucius snapped, his hand slamming down onto the desk beside an ornamental crystal dish which lay upon its surface. In dismay, Draco stared at the dish, wishing he could wake up, get away from his father, be anywhere but here..._

"_Don't pretend to be innocent! Have I taught you nothing? I rarely bluff. I **know** what you have been doing with Potter. You yourself as good as told me tonight. All you needed..."_

..._Draco remembered the dish- as long as he could remember it had stood on the desk in his father's study, empty and hollow as he felt now..._

"..._was something to..." _

..._except that now..._

"_**loosen your tongue**..." Lucius's pale fingers caressed the bowl, brushing the shining coloured jewels inside, and he looked up at his son as though expecting something._

_Draco's eyes widened. The bowl wasn't empty. And the contents, glittering every colour in the candlelight, were not jewels..._

"_Chocolates ..." he whispered._

"_Haven't you guessed?" Lucius cocked his head slightly, a small smile creeping through for an instant._

_Draco stared and this time he couldn't stop the strangled sound that broke from his lips. He dropped into a chair, his mind reeling. The shining jewels were sweets, wrapped in bright colours... sweets identical to those back in the common room... "They drugged me!" he gasped._

"_Very good, Draco... I thought you'd never work it out..." Lucius jerked his head up to face Draco again, and with horror, Draco saw the fury had returned to his father's face. "Care for a **sweet**?" Lucius' voice rose to a roar and in a sudden vicious movement, he flung a handful of the shining chocolates at his son. They rained down on Draco, making his face sting as they pelted him like bullets._

"_Becoming a homosexual." Lucius' sneer said everything his furious voice did not. "I thought I raised a human. And here, I find my only offspring is a monster."_

_Draco couldn't take it. Shaking, he leapt to his feet, his jaw trembling in hurt and fury. "I am **not** a monster!"_

_Draco saw his father's face contort, heard his sharp inhalation. These were the signs that it could get worse, that it **would** be worse for him, but he didn't close his mouth like he used too. Those were the signs, but he couldn't stop._

"_I don't care what you think! You already disowned me, why should it matter what I do? I'm already your disgrace, remember? So what if I 'bond' with the 'wrong people'? So what if the only person who makes me real is a Gryffindor? So what if I love Harry Potter? Why should it matter? Why does anything-"_

_He hadn't realised how close his father was until his head was spinning from the blow that silenced him. Lucius slapped him again, leaving his ears ringing._

"_Sit down."_

"_Father-"_

"_I said **sit down**!" eyes shining with disgust, Lucius all but forced the boy into the chair with his words. Draco looked up from beneath his bruises, silent but resentful. Lucius leaned forward, his hands on the arms of Draco's chair. _

"_Listen to me, Draco, and listen well, because I will **not** say this again. I know what you are doing at Hogwarts, you and Potter, and it **will** stop. I can destroy him, and with you getting this close to him, I will use you to kill him if he gets in my way. Kiss him once more, and the next time you touch him will be when you feel your own fingers around his throat, watching his life slowly ebb away, feeling his eyes on you as he silently asks you why? Could you bear to watch his betrayed self slip away, his own silence accusing you of worse crimes than you ever thought you'd commit? You may think I don't have control over you, but I have ways to use you. How else do you think you got here?"_

"_It's a dream," Draco stammered weakly, terrified, unable to believe what he was hearing. "Just... just a dream..."_

_Lucius sneered. "A dream? A dream in which you felt that slap? It still stings, doesn't it, Draco? The potion in these is rather special- it was developed by the Dark Lord's closest circle. When you eat one... the next time you sleep, your soul is transported to a predetermined location, keeping you there until you are sent away." He straightened up, pacing back around his desk, fingertips resting on its polished surface. "I can call you back here whenever I choose, and believe me, it will not leave a single mark on my conscience to dispose of Potter. I will have him killed, and I will make you be the one to do it. You know I'm right. Don't lie to yourself. End it, Draco. End it, before I make you."_

_Draco's head spun. He could hear his own breathing, gasping and desperate to his ears, echoing in his skull. The world swam before his eyes; the candlelight suddenly seemed painfully bright, drowning out everything but his father's smirk. He cried out, but all he could hear was his blood pounding in his ears, his breath as loud as a freight train. His vision began to dim and suddenly there was a whooshing sound, pale green light all around him, drowning all other thoughts as he fell down, down..._

Screaming, Draco woke in his bed in the Slytherin dungeons. Hopelessly tangled in his sheets, he struggled, trying to rid himself of the memories that burned inside his mind. Before he knew it he was lying face down on the floor, his body stinging from the force of his fall onto the stones. His stomach heaved, and the next moment the previous night's dinner, along with the muffin and chocolates, were spread out before him.

Draco Malfoy, formerly Slytherin's pride, now dishonoured, disowned and deceived, lay on the floor of his dormitory twisted in his sheets, his vomit beside him, and cried like his heart was breaking.

**------------------------------------------------**

**A/N: Yeah, I know! I'm so sorry this took so long, but I got really sick last term for about two and a half months, so I wasn't in much position to write. The next chapter is almost complete though, and it will be up hopefully within the next week or two. :) Everyone who waited or liked this chapter, please also thank Rigella who not only badgered me to complete the chapter, but also helped to complete it. Read her fanfic as well, she's a really good writer. Special thanks to all my reviewers, without you I would not be bothering here, so thanks!!!!**

**Ronin Daiymo: Ever faithful, thank you for your review. Hope you're having awesome fun in Grafton mate. :)**

**Kazillion: Patience, my dear, patience. All will be revealed. And you kinda have had a few veeeeeeeeery subtle hints through the last few chapters of who the stalker person is. But yes. They will probably ruin everything. :) I'm so evil. Hope you enjoyed!!!**

**Sak: Wouldn't you just love to have someone do something like that for you?! How romantic is the thought...sigh...Thanks for your review!**

**Annie: :o Oh no, don't hate them!!! I mean, admittedly, Ron is not one of my favourite characters, but I love Hermione! They're not bad characters, honest! :P**

**Kate: Thank you! Sorry it took so long, hope you like it.**

**Sphinx Rebellion: Yes. Yes he is.**

**Dying Angel 83: I don't know if you got my email, but in case you didn't here are the answers to your questions: **

**1: No, it was just to display his niceness.**

**2: I don't know...:P And that is explained in this chappie just for you!!!**

**3: Hehehehehe kinky. Interesting definitely! Worth thinking about! ;)**

**Starlix: Thanks so much! I hope you continue to like it...**

**December jewel: Ahhh, you are a faithful reviewer. Been with me for a looooooooong time huh. Hope you like this chapter, I'm so very sorry it took so long.**

**Angel Wings 6: I'm glad you loved it! This one isn't quite so lovey dovey, and its going to get a bit more angsty and dramatic, but rest assured that sappy and fluffy fanfic is coming your way soon!**

**Hp Azn: You are one of my favourite people on this fanfic site. I'm so glad you like my stories, and thank you for reviewing like every single time. Here's your new chappie, and the next one is on the move very quickly.**

**Piper13: We'll have to wait and see, won't we? :P Im glad you liked that, I liked writing it and I'm really glad that you enjoyed my efforts. :) Keep reading!!!**

**JWGrey: I hope this is still up to your standards. It's getting a bit less romantic I know, but it's going to get more sappy soon, promise!**

**Rigella: Thank you for reviewing, and double triple quadruple thanks for helping me!!!!!**

**Evil Pilgrim: Since when was insanity a bad thing anyway? :P Well, he did kinda go a bit over the top with anger in the fifth book, so I kinda played on that a lil :P**

**Silver Dragon 161: I hope I haven't lost you!!! I used to love Narnia as a kid, and it sorta hit me that it would be really cute to involve in Harry Potter. I have strange revelations. Keep reading and tell me how its going!!!**

**Aaron19812000: Thanks! Hope you continue to like it, I try really hard to leave cliffhangers because I know how much they make me want more when other people use them!!!**

**Lyra Skywalker: Thanks! And by the way, I love that name – Lyra. It's beautiful!**


	11. Cruel To Be Kind

Title: Like A Fairytale  
  
Author: Stardrops  
  
Genre: Romance  
  
Rating: PG 13: Some violence and slash, precautions only.  
  
Summary: Faced with difficult decisions about his future, Draco forms some unlikely friendships. A passionate romance is sparked – but is not as secret as he supposed. Someone is stalking Draco at Hogwarts – suddenly, keeping himself and Harry safe is more complicated than he imagined.

Chapter Eleven: Cruel To Be Kind

Harry sat at the Gryffindor table the next morning in the Great Hall with Hermione and Ron. He'd slept remarkably well the previous night, but it looked like he was the only one who had. Hermione had large dark circles under her eyes and looked immensely grumpy, whereas Ron just looked pale but remarkably relaxed. Harry laughed at the sight of them both.

"What on earth were you two doing last night?" he asked.

Hermione groaned and rested her head on the table beside her bowl of porridge. "I was so cold last night – the weather was freezing! I got up and read for a while and got really into my book. And when I looked at the time, I sort of realized that it was morning."

Harry snorted. "Why doesn't that surprise me?"

Hermione glared at Ron. "Why are you so tired?"

Ron started and looked around, as though startled to see himself surrounded by people. He returned his confused gaze to Hermione. "Huh? What did you say?"

Hermione frowned and pursed her lips. "You look tired. Why? What were you doing all last night?

"Tired? I'm not tired. I actually slept really well last night."

Harry thought for a moment. "I don't actually remember seeing you in the dormitory last night."

"No, I went to bed after you'd fallen asleep," Ron said, picking up a piece of toast.

Hermione watched him with narrowed eyes. "Where were you before then? You can't have walked past me in the common room, I didn't see anyone go past."

Ron shrugged. "Well, I did go out for a bit, so you must just have been involved in your book." He got up and clapped a hand on Harry's shoulder. "I'm going to go have a shower, okay? See you both later."

Hermione watched him leave, her lips pursed and her eyes furiously searching for clues about the way he was walking. She turned to Harry. "Does he seem strange to you?" she asked, her voice accusing and angry.

Harry looked up and studied Ron's retreating back. "Yeah, he's probably just tired but doesn't want to admit it."

Hermione glanced around the Hall, her eyes narrowed and accusing as she glared at every female in sight. "Do you think he's – maybe – seeing someone?" She sounded remarkably strained. Harry tried to suppress a smile.

"No, I'm pretty sure he's still single Hermione. You and I would be the first ones to know if he wasn't."

Hermione stirred her porridge around her bowl glumly before letting the spoon fall with a clatter. She pushed back her chair and stood. "I'm going to go find him and ask what is going on."

"Hermione – he doesn't need a mother at Hogwarts!" Harry called out, but she was already on her way, determined and resolute. He shook his head and continued to munch on his porridge.

His gaze fell on the Slytherin table as it so often had the last few weeks. Draco was sitting between Blaise and Pansy, but he seemed restless. He was fidgeting with his spoon instead of eating, and his eyes kept darting around the Slytherin table. Harry frowned, wondering what was wrong. Blaise said something to Draco and he very visibly started. Blaise looked across the hall towards Harry and saw him looking at them. For only a few seconds, he held a gaze with Blaise which confused him. There was something about the way lines creased on Blaise's face that made Harry wonder if something was wrong. His gaze turned to Draco, and as he stared he realised there was no doubt. He watched as Draco stared down at his plate and Harry noticed that the spoon was trembling. There was definitely something wrong with Draco.

Blaise, however, was looking from Draco to Harry and back. Harry watched Draco mutter something to Blaise and the pair got up from the table and left the hall. Harry took a last spoonful of porridge and followed them. They were heading up towards the Slytherin common room, and Harry soon lost them. As he stood in the dark corridor, his breathing slightly out, wondering where they'd turned and debating whether or not to go back to the Gryffindor common room and prevent Hermione and Ron from killing each other, he heard a voice behind him.

"Potter."

Harry whipped around to see Draco standing alone behind him. His face broke out into a smile. "Hey! What was wrong at breakfast?" he asked, his expression swiftly changing to one of concern as he reached out to hug Draco.

Draco however, stepped quickly away from Harry as though there was someone watching. Harry looked all around and upon seeing no one, looked back in confusion. "What's going on?" he asked.

Draco looked levelly at Harry, his longish blonde hair falling back softly over his ears. "Look, its over, Potter, ok? Its over." His voice dropped as he turned away. "It was just a dream..."

Harry looked at him in confusion. "What? I don't understand."

Draco spun back to face him, his face twisted in a snarl. "It's pretty simple, Potter! It's over, whatever we had, its done!"

"No, I mean... why are you saying this? You mean that yesterday you were willing to recreate Narnia for me, and now... now you're saying I should just forget this ever happened?"

"Yeah... yes, Potter, that's exactly what I'm saying. Forget it. It never happened." Again, Draco turned. Harry watched, feeling numb, hurt and confused all at once, as the other boy began to walk away.

Harry sighed in irritation before sprinting the few feet to him and grabbing his arms, spinning the boy to face him. "Draco, just look at me, dammit! Why are you doing this? You're acting like a prick!" His face softened to an expression of concern that made Draco want to cry.

"Just leave me alone. I don't like you," Draco spat, fighting to keep emotion from displaying. He wrenched his arms from Harry's grip.

Harry's mouth dropped open as he watched Draco turn to leave. "You don't mean that," he said quietly.

Draco snorted. "Oh, come on Potter. It was just a bit of fun. Leave it now, pretend it never happened." It was painful to watch the saddened expression on Harry's face, and he knew he was cutting Harry deeply. He hated it – but he would hate it more if somehow he was used in the war to hurt Harry.

"But –" Harry began, his voice disbelieving and hurt. Draco interrupted.

"Nothing lasts forever, Potter." He couldn't believe how cruel he was being, how cruel he had to be.

"Why are you saying this? What are you afraid of?"

Draco stared back at Harry for a moment, feeling that if the other touched him for much longer he would burst into tears. He _had_ to do this, to save Harry, but each second brought a pain in his heart worse than the last. Harry gently placed a hand on Draco's arm, but Draco simply pulled free of Harry's grasp and backed slowly away. "What makes you think that I'm afraid of anything?" he managed, his agony almost obvious. For a moment he held Harry's gaze, before he turned away again.

Harry couldn't understand what was happening. The person he cared about so much, was saying that he meant nothing, was walking away from him. "Because I know you want this as much as I do," he called at last. "You wouldn't walk away. Not like this. Not without a reason."

Draco heard Harry's words, feeling like he had been shot. The fact that what the boy said was true burned him more than fire. This time a tear escaped, sliding down his pale cheek, and he knew if Harry saw him cry he'd never be able to go through with this. This time, he couldn't face Harry when he spoke.

"If it makes you feel better, believe that. But I don't want to see you again."

And with that Draco walked off down the corridor, leaving Harry alone.

-----------------------------------------------

He entered the Gryffindor common room to see Hermione and Ron sitting on a sofa in the corner, arms crossed and both looking slightly grumpy. Harry supposed they must have been arguing before he'd come in.

As he entered, they both looked up.

"Harry? Is everything all right?" Hermione asked, her irritated expression melting to be replaced by concern.

He simply looked at her before retreating up the stairs.

"Mate?" he heard Ron call out hesitatingly after him. He just ignored them. All he wanted was space and time to himself.

He really didn't feel like talking to anyone right now.

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A/N: Yes, this is abysmally short and for that I apologise. I just wanted to get it up quickly as a sorta apology for taking so long with the last chapter. Anyways, hope this is up to everyone's standards, and the next chapter should be on its way soon, but don't get your hopes up. I'd say a week or two at the earliest.

**Angel Wings6: Thanks! Here's more angst for you :P Your compliments swell my head so much...thank you incredibly! :)**

**RoschLupin-Black: Yeah, he's a real evil character. But that's what makes him so much fun to write! :P**

**Kazillion: Wow, and I thought I was protective of Draco. I like your thinking though. Brings many evil plans for my enemies to mind. grins evilly Your suggestions are brilliant and they're helping my plan the rest of my story so keep giving them k gorgeous? Luv ya**

**Fenix Riviere: Well, everyone says silver blonde, so maybe I should as well lol. Oh well, next time. Three reviews from you. I like you! The romantic stuff is so much fun to write, it makes you feel all warm to imagine. :)**

**Dying Angel 83: Shhhh...No one else noticed! :P I'm too lazy to figure that out, so I'll just leave it and it can be our little secret. Anyway, this is what happens next, and what happens after is likely to be angsty and dramatic as well. :)**

**Evil Pilgrim: Well, thank you for pointing that out. I would go back and fix it but I really can't be bothered. :P Of course he's clever, the evil ones are always clever.**

**Princess Of Mirrors: Thanks for your review. I love your username too! Draco is pretty girly, hey. I should make him more masculine. But he's so cute when he's girly. :P You'll have to wait and find out who the stalker is I'm afraid.**

**Jinn: Thank you!!!!!**

**Piper13: Yay! My wonderful reviewer is back! Hope this is still up to your standards darlz. Thanks, I'm much better now. :) XX**

**Please review – they make me feel like my story is worth actually updating. Please?**


	12. Hermione

Title: Like A Fairytale

Author: Stardrops

Genre: Romance

Rating: PG 13: Some violence and slash, precautions only.

Summary: Faced with difficult decisions about his future, Draco forms some unlikely friendships. A passionate romance is sparked – but is not as secret as he supposed. Someone is stalking Draco at Hogwarts – suddenly, keeping himself and Harry safe is more complicated than he imagined.

Chapter Twelve: Hermione

Harry sat alone on the edge of his bed, his breath coming out in raged gasps from the realisation having set in. There was no going on with Draco. It was over. It seemed so unreal; Draco couldn't have been speaking the truth. Harry had been so certain that Draco wanted him. So certain that he meant something to Draco. All he remembered about previous moments they'd shared the past few months was blurred and strange, the way he'd felt when he watched a movie that was all in French once. He couldn't understand a thing about it. A burning sensation bloomed at the back of his throat as he remembered the secret lust they'd felt for each other during their detentions. He found himself wondering if it had really been a returned feeling for Draco or if Draco had been simply playing along to see how far he could get with Harry without Harry picking up on signs that Draco was really playing with him.

Harry squeezed his eyes tightly shut. His throat was really sore now – that terrible feeling when he knew tears were about to fall. If there was one thing he refused to do, it was to cry over this.

Draco had seemed to be as delighted by their first kiss in the rain as Harry had been. He remembered the feel of Draco's lips upon his, and clenched his fists to hold back any emotion as he remembered the little sighs of delight Draco emitted when Harry tenderly kissed the side of his neck. He remembered sitting there and simply watching Draco blink back the rain from his beautiful lashes.

The worst feeling was the warmth in his heart. It had vanished and was replaced by a sickened, painful feeling in his gut. He massaged his stomach and lay back on his bed to try and rid himself of it, but nothing could stem the depression that washed over him like a wave. He felt cold suddenly, as though someone had left a window open on that cold winter's night. He sat back up quickly and looked out the window. He could only just see the flakes of snow falling down through the glass. A bitter smile spread across his face as he remembered how once he'd thought snow was beautiful. It was when Draco was walking through it, the black cloak enveloping the boy and making him look like a lone shadow stepping lightly across the grounds. He frowned and silently berated himself. How could he remind himself of such images? It was only bringing more aching to his heart to remember.

Suddenly light flooded through the room, temporarily blinding Harry. He swore loudly and rubbed at his eyes. As he blinked, white spots still appearing in front of his eyes, he registered the sight of Hermione standing in the doorway, her wand in her hand and pointing at the fireplace where now was burning a merry, bright fire. Harry glared at it first and then at Hermione, refusing to admit to himself that the warmth coming from the grate was actually rather enjoyable. He sighed.

"What are you doing here?" he asked Hermione in a tone that was none too friendly.

Hermione slipped her wand back into her robes and stepped silently to Harry's bed. Sitting beside him on the bed, she faced him seriously. "Harry, what is the matter? When you walked past earlier, you looked like the world was ending."

"Why are you even in here? You'll get in heaps of trouble if you're found out, girls aren't even allowed in the boys dormitory," Harry replied grumpily, wishing with all his heart that she would just leave him in peace.

Hermione dismissed this with a single wave of her hand. "Oh, there's no one here. And besides, no one will care anyway. And if they do, then sod them. Harry – talk to me. I can tell something is really wrong. And you've been acting so strangely the past few days. Something is distracting you from your work and even from eating, which I never thought was possible. What is going on?"

Harry deflated silently. "Hermione, I really would rather deal with this on my own."

Hermione cut him off. "No, Harry, because I know you. You'll say that, and then you'll just mope up here without actually thinking it through or trying to get over the problem. The only way you will get through it is to talk to someone, and I intend to be that someone this time." Harry snorted and Hermione frowned sadly. "Harry, honestly. I am your friend. Ron and I care about you, and we can both tell something is really wrong. Nothing would affect you this badly. Is ..." she leaned in closer to whisper confidentially, "...is it something to do with Voldemort?"

Harry let out a mirthless laugh. "Oh, no, it's nothing as serious as that. In fact, it's not very serious at all. You'd much better get back downstairs and continue your little tiff with Ron. "

Hermione sat up primly. "We were not having a tiff Harry. We were simply talking."

"Oh, that's what we're calling it these days, is it?" Harry muttered.

Hermione chose to ignore this and instead took one of Harry's hands in her own. She laced her fingers in his and stared imploringly into his face. "Harry, for the last time, I only want to help you. If you really want to just leave it, then fine, but I honestly think you should talk about it instead of continuously bottling up your emotions. It's really not healthy."

Harry did not pay attention to what she was saying. Instead he was staring at their entwined hands. The warmth of Hermione's hand was evident, but it was so different to the smooth coolness of Draco's skin when it held Harry's hand, or the heat that had radiated from the beautiful, perfect epidermis when Draco's fingers stroked the sides of Harry's face as they kissed. To his absolute horror, he felt himself tearing up again.

Hermione did not miss this. She immediately gasped and released his hand, pulling him into a hug instead. "Harry! Oh, Harry, what on earth is it?"

He couldn't speak, his throat had completely seized up and he feared his voice would wobble when he spoke, or worse yet, that he would instead begin to allow the tears to fall.

Hermione studied his face as she pulled away. "Harry, are you having girl problems?"

Harry laughed out loud. To his immense relief, he felt his throat's tightness subsiding as his sarcastic laugh broke his silence. He faced Hermione with eyes he knew would not be alive or dancing even in the firelight.

"I think I can promise you safely, Hermione, that it is not girl trouble."

Hermione shook her head in bewilderment. "Then what could possibly be wrong? You've never cared about your reports enough to get this angry and upset."

Harry simply sat still. Hermione studied him for a moment and then asked hesitatingly, "Harry ... would this have anything to do with Malfoy?"

Harry's head snapped up. "What?" he barked.

"Well ... I have noticed you looking at him a bit lately. And it's not like he hasn't been looking at you either. Have you two been having more fights that you've just not been telling Ron and me about?" Hermione asked bluntly.

Harry shook his head sadly. "No."

Hermione waited, but he offered nothing more. "But ... but it does have something to do with him?"

Silence met her question, which she took as agreement. "But you and Malfoy have never been friends, so why the sudden fascination with each other? Ever since the summer when he came back to Grimmauld Place, you've been acting less callous towards him. And while I don't have anything against you being friends with him, hasn't he done some terrible things to you and Ron and even to me during the past few years?"

Harry shrugged. "Maybe."

"I always thought you thought he was a dickhead."

Harry tensed up slightly. He could never think that now.

Hermione threw her hands up in the air in exasperation. "Harry, you are really not being much help here! If it wasn't for the fact I know it's completely insane, I'd think that you and Malfoy were having a secret love affair and you were quarrelling now, which is why you're in such a bad mood!" Hermione let a little giggle escape her before realising that Harry wasn't laughing.

"Harry?" Hermione asked after a little pause.

Harry's eyes were shut firmly and his hands were clenched into little fists. The secret was out. There was no point denying it to Hermione. She was too damn perceptive for her own good. She knew things that even Harry himself didn't know about himself and Ron, which must be something to do with all the psychology books she read when her homework books became less interesting (ie. After she'd read them for the twentieth time).

Hermione was still looking at him as though not daring to believe what he was implying.

"Harry?"

"What?"

"Why did you pause?"

He finally looked back to her. "Yes, okay?"

"Yes? Yes what?" Hermione still seemed not to be processing what he was saying.

"I've been secretly seeing him!" Harry said in a voice that was probably louder than necessary.

Hermione's eyes were wide and her mouth opened and shut a few times, cleverly imitating a goldfish though Harry was certain that was not her intention. He knew that it would be difficult for her to process, but at least he could talk to her about this. If it had been Ron, there would have been absolutely no chance whatsoever.

"But – I – no – this can't – Harry, is this a joke?" Hermione sputtered.

"If it were, it would be in really poor taste Hermione."

Hermione sat with her eyes wide and glued to Harry's face. "But how on earth did that happen? You two always hated each other!"

Harry shrugged and stared down into his lap. His face was the picture of misery. Much as he knew it would help for Hermione to process what he was attempting to make her realise, he didn't want to recount everything about his relationship with Draco. That was private to him. Even if it no longer existed. But it still seemed like a dream to him anyway, so if he stopped thinking about it, maybe it would just go away.

He got to his feet. "I just don't want to talk about it, all right?" he snapped.

Hermione pulled at his hand. "No – Harry – you can't just walk away from that!" With a rather powerful tug on his arm, she brought him back to sit beside her again. Harry looked, besides being a little peeved, shocked.

"I never knew you were that strong."

"And I never knew that you and Draco were doing anything. Is that where you've been all those times when you've been sneaking around? Ron and I did wonder where you'd gone, but the thought of you pursuing a secret romance had never entered our heads! But – if you're in a romantic relationship, then why are you so angry and depressed right now?"

Harry shrugged.

"Oh, no, you're not getting off that easily. What happened?"

Harry shrugged again. Hermione tried one last time, her eyes concerned and anxious.

"Harry – please. I'm just a friend trying to help you."

To his disgust, he found himself rattling off the entire tale, from the beginning. How he'd begun to see the beauty in Draco's face once it stopped sneering, how unbelievably attracted he'd been to Draco during detention, that night in the rain and everything since then. He censored it, of course, because he didn't want Hermione to know the most intimate details and he was sure that she was not interested in hearing them.

Hermione, however, seemed to guess how much Harry liked Draco from the smile that hinted behind his forced blank expression as he spoke about the times he and Draco had been together. She couldn't help smiling inwardly herself.

But as Harry's story went on, she couldn't even begin to contemplate why Draco would suddenly announce the end of a relationship he seemed to enjoy as much as Harry. The thought of course was there in the back of her mind that perhaps Draco was using Harry for entertainment, or possibly as a joke for Slytherin. But even this didn't seem to calculate properly. Surely not even Draco Malfoy could be that callous.

"Anyway, it doesn't really matter, so let's not make a big deal of it, all right?" he muttered to Hermione as he finished.

Hermione saw right through this. "Harry – don't even think about it. You always shove things aside as though they don't matter. This matters, okay? Stop acting like it doesn't. Ron and I will see right through you every time."

Harry froze. "You're ... you wouldn't tell Ron, would you?"

Hermione sighed. "Of course not, Harry. You can trust me."

Harry nodded. "Anyway ... now there's nothing to tell, so I guess it doesn't matter."

Harry was not teary any longer, though he did still feel slightly nauseas and his heart literally ached as he related his tale to Hermione. Talking slightly helped, as it brought back memories that made him sadder, it also helped to have someone understand.

Hermione looked sympathetically at him. "You really like him, don't you?"

Harry couldn't bring himself to speak, so he simply nodded. Once again, he felt his throat tighten and knew he was going to cry. And for the first time that day, he was truly glad to have a friend like Hermione there with him. Maybe being alone when you mourn isn't always the best option. As Hermione took him in her arms and hugged him, he was simply glad she was there.

He only wished Draco were as well.

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**A/N: Yeah ... you all have the right to be mad, I know I promised it within a week or two, but this has been a little while longer. It's been hellish at school, graduation is in four weeks and I've been super busy with drama rehearsals. :) Hope this was up to everyone's standards, and thank you so much to everyone who reviewed. This chapter was a little boring, perhaps, but it was necessary.**

**Special thanks to:**

**Ancient History: Hehehehe thanks mate!**

**Vulpixfairy: I somehow don't think it will be complete for a while ... the story is only just about a third of the way through. It will be completely developed soon though, and then there'll only be the mess to unravel. Until next time, hope you continue to like!**

**Ronin Daiymo: Thank you! That was not Pansy date rape by the way, but we've already had this conversation. **

**Morbidity: Thank you! I live to serve :P**

**Princess Of Mirrors: You'll know who it is sooner or later :P It will be unmean soon, I promise! And thank you, if I'm cool, you are cooler!**

**Fenix Rivere: Yeah, don't worry. It may be better soon! Look on the bright side. If you were Harry, would you take no for an answer?**

**Jazz Maffia: It was just something like, 'why is Potter staring at you?' the first time, and then they were agreeing to leave the second time. **

**AngelWings6: I'm glad! I'm pretty sad to write it, I don't like them being at odds, they make such a cute couple. Thank you for your compliments! Hope you continue to like it!**

**Piper 13: Thanks! You'll see soon ... but who says they're going to get through this? ... nah, they will if I have anything to do with it!**

**Kazillion: Shorter means faster updates though :P Lucius is an arsehole, yes. Sorry about that. There may possibly be a bitch slap just for you. I may add that in. In fact, yes. I like that. I will definitely add that in. Thank you! :P**

**RoschLupinBlack: They're strong! Together they may get through this! If we will really hard, I'm sure they'll sense our pain and get their act together :P **

**Ancient History:  Loving it then?**

**Pecame: I'm glad to hear you like it. I never really thought about Harry and Draco slash until I read some really good ones (my friend forced me to, I had no choice) and now I'm addicted. **

**HpAZN: Yay! You reviewed! I know, Lucius is such a ... a ... oh well you know. :P Glad you still like, keep me posted on how its going aiight?**


	13. Slapping Some Sense

Title: Like A Fairytale

Author: Stardrops

Genre: Romance

Rating: PG 13: Some violence and slash, precautions only.

Summary: Faced with difficult decisions about his future, Draco forms some unlikely friendships. A passionate romance is sparked – but is not as secret as he supposed. Someone is stalking Draco at Hogwarts – suddenly, keeping himself and Harry safe is more complicated than he imagined.

Chapter Thirteen: Slapping Some Sense

Hermione left Harry's room feeling unsettled and angry. She had never really liked Draco, rather tolerated him when he'd been brought to Grimmauld Place and when he'd had no one left. She'd felt sorry for him. But now – there was nothing she wanted to do more than find him and make him sorry. No one would mess with her friends and get off that easily – not if Hermione had anything to do with it.

Harry she knew would not be pleased if she went to talk to him. But if she did, there was no reason why Harry had to know. It was definitely time for someone to inform him of just how much of a jerk he really was. And right now – she intended to have that glory.

She stormed up to Crabbe and Goyle who were standing in the Entrance Hall. They looked at her in surprise as she stood before them. "What?" grunted Crabbe.

She leveled him with an angry glare. "Where's Malfoy?" she snapped, her no nonsense glare frightening them into simply shrugging.

"Haven't you got the smallest, tiniest, most miniscule shred of intelligence inside those big, ugly heads of yours?" she snapped. Goyle blinked stupidly, and Crabbe fought furiously to think of some cutting retort. Unfortunately, none sprung to mind, and the pair of them resorted to simply cracking their knuckles threateningly and slinking off before she released her wrath on them.

Breathing a sigh of irritation, Hermione whirled around and stomped down a corridor, searching. After searching for several minutes, she sat down and thought to herself. "Where would I be if I'd just broken up with my boyfriend?" she asked herself. Smirking, she answered her own question. "Well, obviously in the library. There are not a whole lot of other places I'd go for any reason really. But he's never been one to study or lose himself in books when times are difficult …"

None the less, she headed down and across the school towards the library. Stepping quietly, she entered and looked around. Hardly anyone was there – most students were back in their common rooms as it was getting very late. At least this way there would be no one around to witness the Head Girl yelling in a probably undignified manner.

She caught sight of her prey. Ahead of her, in an uncomfortable looking wooden chair facing the wall, was a blonde haired boy. Holding her chin high and pursing her lips, she walked towards him. He held a book in his hands, but he didn't appear to be reading it. Indeed, as she got a little closer, Hermione noticed that his eyes weren't moving – rather, were glued to a single spot on the page. Ignoring this, though, she tapped him on the shoulder.

Draco, who'd been completely zoned out as he sat mournfully pretending to study, looked around with a start. When he saw Hermione's enraged face, he immediately jumped to his feet and took one step back. Being around an irate Hermione with Crabbe and Goyle present was quite one thing. Being alone when she looked so definitely murderous was quite another story.

"Granger? What are you – " he began, trying to muster a disdainful look he knew she had grown accustomed to seeing upon his expression.

_WHACK._ Before Draco could even finish his sentence, or indeed, completely master his expression, Hermione had lifted her hand and slapped him with all her might.

Draco touched a finger to his stinging cheek, blinking in astonishment.

"What the bloody hell was that for?" he barked, only too aware that this was not the first, or probably the last, time he'd experience a slap from the bushy haired Gryffindor.

"You know perfectly well what that was for. And what's more – you know you deserved it." Hermione whispered fiercely, looking nothing short of furious. Her eyes blazed, warning Draco to swallow the words that were on the tip of his tongue for fear of her lashing out again.

"You are a cold, callous bastard, and I wish to Merlin that I could hex you into the next century. If it weren't for the fact that I hold position as Head Girl at Hogwarts, believe me, I would have absolutely no reason not to. Even having points taken off my house is worthy of never having to see you hurt my friends again."

Draco's eyes widened and before he could pretend to know nothing of what she was talking about, he had spoken. "You've been talking to Potter."

Hermione raised her fist threateningly. "Yes, I've been talking to 'Potter', and let me tell you, if I'd known what was going on a moment before you had the chance to ruin it, I would have been only too happy to destroy your chances of hurting that boy. How dare you?!"

Draco's eyes were radiating imaginary defiance. He knew himself that what he had done deserved much more than a slap and an ear bashing from Hermione, but still, he wanted nothing more to do with anything close to Potter - for fear he might go crawling back begging Harry for forgiveness. It had been hard enough to leave Harry standing there when he knew so well that Harry would think the worst of him, but he'd made a decision. And that decision had been to keep Harry safe regardless of whatever consequences he would have to face.

"Listen, Granger - "

"No, you listen here. If you're going to go around destroying people's confidences, you at least should have a bloody good listen to your own damn faults. You are selfish, spoiled, bratty, egocentric, conceited, arrogant, smug, self-righteous, priggish, insensitive, inconsiderate, uncharitable, thoughtless, uncaring, heartless, cold, cruel and a downright arsehole. People hate you for a reason, Malfoy. You treat everyone else with contempt even though in your heart, you are completely aware of your own insignificance. And the way you treated Harry is perfectly disgraceful. I hope you are ashamed, but I know from experience that the only emotion you are capable of feeling is self-satisfaction. Don't you dare come near me, Ron or Harry ever again unless you can prove to one of us that you are worthy of anything. Otherwise, so help me, I _will_ send you all the way to hell."

With those last words, Hermione flounced off purposefully to the exit of the library, leaving a stunned Draco to stand silently in his own shame for what seemed an age. The thing that stung him most was that every single utterance Hermione had made hit close to him. She'd been speaking nothing but the truth the whole time.

Sitting down slowly and quietly on the uncomfortable chair, he let the book he'd been holding the entire while slide to the ground where it hit the wooden floor with a hollow thump.

Harry was probably hurting much more than he was. At least Draco knew the reason why they weren't together any longer. He winced as he remember the hurt expression on Harry's face. He hated to think that it was his fault. Especially after not long before that, they'd been so close. It was really rather disconcerting to have so much guilt heaped upon him, considering he'd never really felt such emotions before.

When he was growing up, he'd always been taught that what Malfoy thinks and wants is what is best for everyone. And now he knew for certain that what his father had taught him was complete crap. As was everything to do with his father, really.

Maybe the presence of such emotions was a good thing. Perhaps this was making him a better person. He knew one thing at least. Being around Harry definitely made him a better person. He had to see him.

He owed Harry the truth at least. If he was going to cruelly dump Harry, he had to at least give him a reason that was not the generic break up excuse. He was going to find Harry and make him understand why they could no longer be together.

The next day, Draco set out resolutely. He was going to tell Harry the truth. Leaving him in the dark was not only cruel and heartless as Hermione had reminded him, but he didn't want Harry to be left thinking that Draco didn't like him anymore. That was painful for even Draco to think about, because the moment Harry stopped liking and trusting him, he knew he wouldn't really have anything else. Harry meant more to him than what he'd originally thought, and he was determined to work it out, even if it meant giving up any sense of pride.

He went down the corridor to the Hall where the tables were still set for breakfast. Looking at the wizard clock on the side of the Hall, he realised he'd slept a rather long time, and that chances of Harry still being in the Hall were remote. Chewing his lip, he looked around. Sure enough, the places Harry, Ron and Hermione usually occupied were filled with Ginny Weasley and two of her giggling friends.

Rolling his eyes, he left the Hall and walked around for a while, thinking where else to go. A thought struck him that perhaps they'd gone outside. But judging by the fact that it was still winter, this was not very likely unless they'd gone to visit Harry. A thought struck him. Had Harry told more people than just Hermione? He knew Harry and Ron were close, but for some reason, he'd never even supposed that Harry might tell Ron. It didn't seem like the sort of thing one tells someone like Ron. He didn't think Ron would be very understanding, though he didn't fully understand why he was thinking that. Ron and Harry were very close friends, and it made sense. Surely, if he'd told Hermione, he'd told Ron?

Swallowing hard, he made towards the library as a last resort. If they'd gone to Hagrids, there was no way Draco was following him all the way out there. He'd be killed by all those people, particularly if Harry had told Hagrid. Indeed – what if Harry had told everyone in the Gryffindor house? Perhaps they were all laughing at him behind his back?

Entering the library, he looked around. A table full of Gryffindor sixth years was near the door, and though some looked up when he entered, none acknowledged his presence or began to giggle and make fun. This made him feel slightly better. He knew that if Harry had spread this around as gossip, people wouldn't be being so polite about it. They would be openly jeering and making fun. This brightened his hopes slightly. Telling Hermione was one thing. Telling Ron would be completely another.

He looked around, and to his surprise, Hermione was sitting at a table by herself. The other two wouldn't have gone to see Hagrid without her, so they must be in the library too. Or at least within the Hogwarts building. He crept past her table so she wouldn't notice him, for he was certain that if he alerted her to his presence, his face would probably be being beaten to another painful pulp as it didn't take a genius to figure that she was still not pleased with him.

Looking around again, he noticed some people sitting on their own. In the corner of the darkened room, Draco could see Harry sitting at a table for two, opposite someone whose back was turned to Draco. He was looking down at a chessboard on the table, his eyes narrowed in concentration. Such a picture made the corners of Draco's mouth twitch as he looked fondly at the boy he liked so much.

Staring more closely, Draco could see the person whose back was turned. To his frustration, he realised he could see red hair on the back of their head. Harry was sitting with Ron.

Draco gritted his teeth. Oh well. It was now or never.

He stepped forward towards their corner. The library wasn't exactly quiet, but both Harry and Ron looked up immediately at the sound of footsteps.

As Ron's gaze fell upon Draco, his expression turned sour. "What the hell do you want, Malfoy?" Ron asked roughly. "Shouldn't you be off preening somewhere?"

Draco ignored him, something that always took Ron by surprise. His heart was beating fast. If Harry had told Ron, Ron's opening comment would have been something much more biting and to the point. Relief flooded him. There was nothing more difficult than being one less in a battle than Weasley who he knew would have been delighted to find out this piece of gossip and spread it around to make Draco seem more of a dickhead than the student population already believed him to be. "Potter, can I have a word?"

Harry sat, eyes wide at the sight of the person he'd been thinking of so much. Draco thought he could detect a hint of hope as Harry's eyes first met his own, but his expression was still carefully guarded, and Draco could tell that Harry was worried about getting his hopes up in case Draco had not ideas of reconciliation, but ideas that were likely to upset Harry further.

Ron yawned. "Terribly sorry, Malfoy, but Harry and I are in the middle of something here. Unlike you, Harry and I have lives and friends, so why don't you buzz off and find one of each for yourself?"

Draco balled his fists and bit the inside of his cheek to keep from retorting. "It won't take a moment, honestly. Just a quick word. Please, Potter?"

Ron's eyes widened. "My God, that sounds serious. You actually used the word 'please'. I didn't think you knew the meaning of polite manners, considering your ferrety nature. If you want to talk to Harry, either do it here in front of me, or wait til some further time, say in a thousand years, when Harry is willing to talk to you."

"No – Ron – it's okay, really. I'll go for one second." Harry refused to meet either boy's eyes, and rather stared down at the chessboard, focusing in particular on a bishop in his half of the board.

"But – Harry – the game?" Ron seemed desperately trying to keep Harry there, as though his entire work of insulting Malfoy so far that day depended upon whether or not Harry went with Draco or stayed there with him.

"Never mind that, Ron. Checkmate." Harry moved his knight forward, crushed Ron's invading bishop, and proceeded to win the game.

"No way …" Ron said slowly, his attention temporarily distracted. "That's not possible. You never win a game against me."

Harry smiled slyly. "There's always a first time."

He got up from his chair and left a bewildered looking Ron staring dejectedly at the chessboard, muttering to himself and pointing at squares as though determined to find fault in Harry's victory. Draco led Harry away, to a section of the library where the wizarding law books sat. No one ever went to that section, as the books were tediously boring and full of sentences such as: '… opposed to Section 127B where a second party may make an objection to the amendments made to any law subject to change by a third party in Section 847K (iii), Figure 756 (ii) and Section 2006F (iv) paragraph 26. Only a third party may move to alter this amendment, or first party developing in practise for the Act to ban the segregation of …" and so on.

They walked in silence, Draco slightly ahead of Harry. His heartbeat was racing once more, and he was cursing himself silently for getting himself into this mess. The following conversation was going to be nothing short of awkward and Malfoys, as a rule, were not good with the whole awkward situation thing. But then, he remembered the promise he'd made himself to become Draco – not to be a Malfoy. He held his head high and resolutely led Harry away from listening ears and curious eyes.

Walking a tiny way behind Draco, Harry was only too aware how thick the silence between them was. He held his breath and fought the panic that was bubbling inside him. What on earth could Draco want? Surely he wasn't going to try a reconciliation – was he?

Harry mentally hit himself on the side of the head. He shouldn't be getting his hopes up. The chances of anything even related to that were extremely small. Watching the back of Draco's head, he saw Draco shake his head slightly, as though to flick any stray hair out of his eyes, and walking slightly more briskly. Perhaps he was holding his head a little higher, but Draco suddenly seemed more sure of himself than Harry could remember since they'd begun their secret infatuation.

Harry felt very small walking behind the Slytherin. It seemed that the confidence flowing through Draco at the moment was being drained from Harry's own body, and that Harry was shrinking into nothing.

Suddenly, Draco stopped walking and turned around. Harry had to fling his arms out to stop himself from overbalancing. Draco inadvertently reached out and steadied him. Harry felt the heat from Draco's palm, and the warm sweat on his palms and realized Draco must have been clenching his fists as they walked.

Draco snapped his hand away – the cool, smooth skin of Harry's arm was sending thrills down his body and into his stomach. A warmth spread from the expanse of skin that had been in contact with Harry's skin through his body. He fought to keep himself from showing any signs of desire or passion as he finally looked at the face of the boy he secretly wanted so badly.

Harry himself looked uneasy. He couldn't bring himself to speak, yet the silence that surrounded them was unbearable. Draco standing there, looking so beautiful in the dim torchlight of the library was more arousing than Harry thought appropriate. He felt a familiar buzz in his stomach as he took in the expression of the boy before him.

Draco face was carefully calculated, back to the old Malfoy tricks of looking carefully bored and uninterested. But his eyes gave him away. Harry stared into the grey pools, marveling at their liquid silver appearance. And when Draco's eyes met his, a stab of longing shot through him – more desire than he could remember feeling for any one person ever.

Draco finally broke the eye contact with Harry, uncomfortable with the electricity that he felt between them. If he continued with such simple yet strangely erotic thoughts, he would end up allowing himself to let something happen between himself and the boy who stood before him.

Harry shifted nervously from one foot to the other. It became apparent that Draco was not going to be able to conjure the strength to begin the conversation, so he cleared his already dry throat and croakily said, "So."

Draco winced internally. God, even the boy's voice was turning him on. Something about the smooth, deep tone of the masculine voice made him want to hear it speak again.

"So what?"

Harry raised an eyebrow. 'What is it, Malfoy? You just pulled me away from my best friend, and now you're standing there looking all childish and awkward, and you speak now as though you did it all for no reason?' His heart was beating. He knew he was being slightly unkind, but he felt the urge to make Draco feel guilty or defensive – anything other than this blank emotionless silence.

"I … I just wanted to speak to you." Draco looked down at his feet involuntarily before realizing how meek that must make him look. He shook back his hair once more and looked at the point between Harry's eyes. At least then he wouldn't have to see the confusion, hurt and whatever else was currently in Harry's eyes. Whatever Harry was feeling would always be displayed there. He was one of the most expressive and open people Draco had ever come across. And that was something Draco admired, for he himself knew that even if he tried, he would always be too self conscious to wear his heart on his sleeve.

Harry felt a rush of spite and malice and wanted, suddenly, to hurt Draco. He wanted to make Draco feel the pain he himself was feeling, in the desperate hopes that it might lead him back to Harry. To show Draco what it meant to be betrayed.

But he could not do it. He couldn't hurt Draco. The boy he'd hated so long had suddenly become more than an enemy or rival – more than a fascination. It had become an infatuation – a lust - an obsession so crazed with passion that Harry could hardly bear to sleep or even close his eyes for a moment. He feared above all things that when he woke from a sleep, he might also wake to find that Draco's love had been a dream.

"Then speak." Harry knew he was being less than cooperative, but his irritation did not seep away at Draco's helplessness.

Draco stood, momentarily struck dumb. He reached a hand to his face and rubbed at the spot where he'd been hit by his father. He still half didn't believe it to be real, but the pain had stung for much longer after he'd woken, bringing him uncertainty when he tried to convince himself that it was not real – that it had in fact only been a dream.

Harry half smiled sadly and nodded. "Right. Well … I should get back to Ron. See ya round."

He turned to go, and Draco suddenly panicked. "Wait – Potter!"

Harry turned his head, but his feet were still facing the other way. "What, Malfoy?"

Draco fought the terror that was inside him. The dream may have seemed real, but this was real. Harry was real. And the feelings inside him that he had for this boy were also real. Even if he had to let Harry go, the only way he could would be to make him understand why. He couldn't bear the thought of Harry walking away thinking of Draco as a heartless creep. He needed to make Harry understand.

He took a deep breath and walked to Harry to stand directly in front of him, blocking Harry's escape route. "I owe you something."

Harry laughed dryly. "You don't owe me anything. I -"

"No." Draco interrupted Harry, leaving Harry slightly surprised and a little curious. "I do owe you something. I owe you the truth. I owe you an explanation. And I owe you an apology."

Harry stared right into Draco's eyes, and was astounded to see pleading in them. "Please," Draco whispered, imploring Harry to listen.

Harry looked torn. He wasn't sure he wanted to hear this – but could he go through the rest of his existence not knowing why Draco had broken it off so suddenly, and what had happened to suddenly stop him from wanting Harry?

No.

He needed to hear this. If not for anything else, at least for closure.

A/N: Yeah. Sorry it has taken so long. Writers block, slackness and school have kept me from doing it. But now the holidays are here and I may update more than that. But you will have to review if you want more. :P

Ronan Daiymo: Shut up. Lol Did this chapter raise the angst rating? Or perhaps lower it slightly? Let me know!

Kazillion: There's one of your bitchslaps. There will be another if I don't forget to put it in. Which I probably will unless you remind me in a few chapters time. Thanks heaps for your constant reviews! Luv ya!

Angel-Wings6: Here's the new installment! I know, poor Draco. He's so handsome though, when he's being all suffering and courageous don't you think? :P I imagine him to be anyway.

Zoomaphonethepirate: There may or may not be a happy reconciliation. I haven't decided. :P Glad you like – hope you continue to like!

HpAzn: So which one did you want to get sick, and which would take care of them? And how do you propose I get them away from the general population of Hogwarts to do that? If you answer these – your wish will be granted. :D

Goli Weremaster: Thanks for the uber long review! There are a few questions you asked that I cannot answer because it will ruin the story for you, but here are some harmless answers to some of the things you said: 1.Yes. I suppose the ice scene was slightly ott. But it was cute! What can I say?! Plus it was the only present I could think of that had never been done in a fanfic before as far as I could remember. 2. Petty argument? You got it. Great idea. I love it. Thank you! I shall credit you for it too, don't worry! 3. Yes, it was real. Not a dream. It's not very clear, I know. But it wasn't meant to be clear. :P I'm a confusing person so yeah. I would answer your questions but … I'm nasty. And I want to keep you in suspense. So yeah! Til next time my wonderful reviewer! hugz

Budhamley: Thanks for reviewing! Hope you continue to like.

Bluebellfairy: prods socks hehehehe they're rocking away! :P Thanks for highly recommending, and I'm glad you like it enough to put it on those lists! hugz ur cool!

Lyra Skywalker: Thanks! I was eating chocolates and it sorta put me in the mood to put it in the story. Hehehehehe I'm so random.

Rigella: Thank you my dear. And you should talk! You finally updated! rejoices sings 'Joy to the world …' Anywayz :P I need you to help with the next chappie btw.

Psychelle: Ahhhh, but that would be telling. taps nose Keep reading!


	14. Honesty and Reconcilliation

Title: Like A Fairytale

Author: Stardrops

Genre: Romance

Rating: PG 13: Some violence and slash, precautions only.

Summary: Faced with difficult decisions about his future, Draco forms some unlikely friendships. A passionate romance is sparked – but is not as secret as he supposed. Someone is stalking Draco at Hogwarts – suddenly, keeping himself and Harry safe is more complicated than he imagined.

Chapter Fourteen: Honesty and Reconciliation

"Fine," Harry conceded, raising a hand to rub his aching temples as he took a few steps forward. Draco bit his lip as the other boy brushed forcefully past him. Harry turned back to face Draco. "Fine," he repeated. He leaned back against a bookshelf. "Talk."

Draco felt uncomfortable. Harry looked so hurt and furious. All he wanted to do was throw his arms around Harry and kiss him, kiss away the pain and confusion on his face that Harry tried so unsuccessfully to hide. But he knew he couldn't.

Draco swallowed nervously. "Shall … er, shall we …?" he indicated vaguely at the floor between the shelves.

"I'm fine standing," Harry told him shortly, refusing to be the first to sit. "Just get on with it, Malfoy." Inwardly, he was marvelling at himself. He'd never managed to be this cold and indifferent to anyone before, much less to Draco Malfoy. And it was coming so easily now … Harry was really rather pleased with himself. Draco looked so unbelievably nervous – an emotion Draco Malfoy had never shown in a conversation before to anyone other than Harry. This was an interesting development.

Draco himself was intrigued by Harry's newfound confidence, sarcasm and perfect balance between uncaring and loathing. Draco himself would have been proud of such a show. And the worst thing about this situation was that now he couldn't tell if Harry was truly feeling these emotions, or if he was simply pretending to as a form of self preservation.

The only thing to do would be to coax the answer out of him.

Draco cleared his throat. "I – had a dream."

Harry raised his eyebrows. "You had - a dream? You had a dream, and all of a sudden everything you said before didn't matter?" He frowned for a moment before smirking in a way so reminiscent of the old Draco that Draco was astounded. "Sorry, Malfoy, that just won't cut it. If that's all you got me here to say, I might as well leave."

"Would you let me finish?" snapped Draco impatiently. Harry stepped back, slightly startled. His sneering expression nearly slipped, but he grasped it at the last minute, and once more leaned back with his newfound confidence and superiority.

"All right, then. Continue, by all means." Harry folded his arms and stared pointedly at his face.

Draco shifted nervously from one foot to the other. "It wasn't just a dream. It was … well … it was real." He looked anxiously up at Harry to see that the boy's expression had softened slightly and was looking more curious than sneering now. "I was given something by the Slytherins that made me go to my father in my dreams. He knew about us."

Harry's eyes widened. "He did? How?"

Draco shrugged, momentarily wondering this himself. "Beats me." He briefly closed his eyes and inhaled deeply before uttering the next part. Opening his eyes, he continued. "He threatened to kill you if I didn't leave you immediately."

Harry snorted. "We already know your father wants to kill me. Why would that matter all of a sudden?"

"Because he threatened to use me to kill you."

Silence filled the tiny, confined space in which they stood. Harry's mouth was slightly open, his red lips parted in both surprise and confusion. Draco's own lips seemed to ache with the urge to kiss them, make that beautiful face relax with passion. But he couldn't. Not yet. He hadn't finished his story. He didn't know what Harry felt, and what Harry would think about him now, since he'd told Harry about his father's evil plans. What would Harry think of him now, knowing he was related to someone so awful?

"Wha-? How was he planning on doing that, exactly?" Harry asked.

Draco studied his nails. "Imperius curse or similar, I suppose." Dropping his hand to his side, he looked imploringly once more into Harry's eyes. "I-I'm sorry I didn't … _couldn't_ tell you, but I couldn't risk the Slytherins knowing that I had told you about the dream. You looking so miserable for a while would have settled their minds for the time being, but I – I guess I just couldn't … well … bear to watch you any longer without you knowing."

Harry sniffed. "Why would you care, Malfoy? It's not as though it's anything new. We spent the better part of six years hating each other. Why would another year add anything apart from numbers?"

Draco could barely lift his head to meet Harry's face. "Because … I guess I couldn't bear to think of you in the school somewhere hating me."

Harry blinked. That was unexpected. Of all the things he thought Draco might say, that was the last thing that had popped into his head. "But – before, when I caught you outside the Great Hall after breakfast that day. You said that you didn't like me … that you never wanted to see me again." Immediately he wished that he'd not brought it up, those words were painful to think about, much less utter aloud. But he had remembered them so well, as though they'd been etched into his brain since the moment Draco had said them. He'd thought about them every time that he pondered Draco since that day and now he was throwing them back. Surprisingly, he felt amidst the pain, confusion and hurt – he felt release. He was finally getting an explanation for what had been haunting him so long.

Draco cringed inwardly. Had he really said those things? Well – yes. He knew he had. They'd been replaying in his head, accompanied by the hurt look on Harry's face. Now they were coming back to haunt him.

"I said those things to make you hate me. I wanted you to stay away, Potter, because I was scared that I might kill you!" Draco said desperately. "But it wasn't what I wanted."

"Well, then, please enlighten me as to what the hell it actually is that you want, Malfoy. I'm so tired of trying to read your mind and constantly getting the wrong answers. What is it that you want from me?" Harry asked, somewhat aggressively, he had to admit.

Draco looked sad for a moment before returning his gaze to Harry's face. "Anything." When Harry showed no sign of anything other than curiosity, Draco continued with growing urgency to convey this message. "I want to be around you, even as just your friend. But I can't."

Harry deflated slightly. All this talk from Draco had been giving him a tiny shred of hope that perhaps the thought of getting back together was not completely out of the question. He had certainly not ruled it out, even with this news. "Why not?"

Draco hesitated slightly before answering. "Because I could never forgive myself if I was used to murder you."

A short silence passed that seemed to last an eternity. Where was this heartfelt confession coming from? Surely Malfoy had never been so open about anything before. Harry didn't quite know what to think. Coming from Malfoy – someone who had hated him so much for so long before abruptly becoming closer than anyone else had to Harry's heart, this was the strangest thing that Harry could remember hearing from his former enemy. His mouth opened and shut like a goldfish as he struggled to find something to say. "I … you … it's not … but … Malfoy?"

Draco smiled dejectedly. "It was nice being around you, Potter. I liked your company. I know now why Ron and Hermione are so protective of you. But I am not going to sacrifice your life for my lust."

Harry advanced a few steps until he was standing right in front of Draco. "What about what I want?"

Draco's breath caught in his throat. Choking slightly, he huskily whispered, "All right then. What do you want, Potter?"

Harry took Draco's hand in his own and entwined their fingers. "This," he replied softly. "All I want right now is to be with you." He flicked his eyes up to Draco's, seeing him visibly tense but – somehow – at the same time, relax. "But only if you promise not to keep things like that from me."

Draco couldn't believe what he was hearing. "But Potter – I might …" Harry's hand flew up, softly touching two fingers to Draco's mouth, preventing him from speaking any more.

"I don't care about what your father or Voldemort or anyone might do to me. I'm not going to let them stop me from living the rest of my life. Voldemort has taken so much from me already. I won't let him take away any chance I might have of love again. Not this time."

Draco stood silently.

Harry felt suddenly very stupid. "Do you – do you actually want this as well, Malfoy, or am I just making a complete fool of myself here?"

Draco looked up. "No!" he blurted out suddenly, afraid that Harry might leave. "I want that as well. As long as you know about my father – and obviously, the - the Dark Lord."

"Then promise me."

"Promise what?"

"What I just asked you to promise. Promise that you won't try to save my life by depriving me of the one thing Voldemort took away." Harry looked so solemn and, in a way, sad, that Draco's heart lurched in his chest simply to comfort the boy.

He nodded. "I promise." Taking Harry's other hand, he held in tightly in his own.

"If we're going to let these things come between us, it's not worth having a friendship – much less a relationship. I want to trust you, Malfoy. I really do. Stop trying to play the hero with me and just be yourself." Harry lifted a tender hand and stroked the side of Draco's face. Unable to stop himself, Draco leaned into the touch.

"I will," Draco promised.

Harry smiled. His heart was considerably lighter. Draco still cared for him – enough to sacrifice his own happiness to save Harry's life … yet now, Harry was back with him, back in the presence of the Slytherin and also in his heart. He was fascinated again by those perfect, silver eyes, usually barred and shielded, but now full of desire and longing. The smooth, pale skin, shadowed by the dim library light. And those beautiful, soft, pink lips just begging to be touched by Harry's own.

Draco was about to lean forward and engage in the contact that they were both desiring, but Harry broke the silence and the mood by clearing his throat and asking briskly, "But about this 'possibility of you being used to murder me' thing – how did your father find out?"

Draco frowned. Breaking the hand contact he had with Harry, he paced up and down the floor of the library. "My guess is that he has inside contacts. Obviously the seventh-year Slytherins are in on his plans, as they're eager to be accepted into his service the moment they're old enough to. But they can't be the only ones. There's got to be someone else, someone who is close to you or me that can slip about unnoticed."

He whirled to face Harry. "Someone is following one of us."

Harry's eyes were wide, his stomach prickling with the small stabs of fear. "Who could it be? Who would want to destroy us both? The only people who want me dead are those in the Slytherin house. No one else is on the Dark Side in the quest to vanquish the Potters."

"Either way, there's someone who is following us. Someone has been around us when we've been alone." Draco's eyes were dark and serious. "We must be more careful, Potter. This person is dangerous, and they're dealing with my father, who in turn is dealing with Voldemort. Any contact between us in public must be only that of bitter enemies. Or at best, a platonic friendship. Or …" He turned away, his head feeling faint at the thought. "Or you might be killed."

Harry looked at the ground. His past was once more coming back to haunt him. Everyone else had it so easy, they could fall in love with whoever they liked, they could cheat on them with whoever they liked, and they could pretty much do whatever they liked with whoever they chose. But Harry was once again restricted by the restraints of his past. Of who he was. As a Potter, he was always going to be looking over his shoulder.

He would never be safe.

And now that limitation was controlling his love life. He could no longer fall for whoever he wanted. The one person he loved was the person he should stay as far away from as possible.

Perhaps it was the temptation of forbidden territory. Perhaps it was the thrill of danger that drew Harry so close to Draco all the time.

Or perhaps it was simply because of all the people Harry had ever been with; Draco was the only one who cared for Harry because he was a person. Everyone else, save those that had been under the influence, had wanted a piece of Potter. But Draco had so much to lose, now that he'd just gotten back the respect of the Slytherins, and could so easily be killed by Voldemort or his father for fraternising with Harry.

Perhaps the reason Harry was drawn to Draco was because for the first time since his parent's death, he felt truly and unconditionally loved.

He reached out a hand and stopped Draco from pacing furiously. Turning him slowly with a gentle touch on the elbow, Harry gazed once more into Draco's eyes. Draco in turn looked back at the emerald green eyes, so filled with emotion. He was drawn to their passion and desire, and found himself reciprocating the emotions. Of all the people at Hogwarts he could have had, Harry was the best that he could ever hope for.

Slowly, they drew closer together. Draco's hand reached out and touched Harry's chest, sliding down to rest on his waist. Harry's own arms reached around and pulled Draco into a closer embrace. Both were careful not to close the gap between them, for fear the other might push them away.

Harry looked over Draco's face, stroking his back delicately and inhaling in slowly. "This could end badly," he breathed.

Draco nodded, never once lifting his eyes from Harry's lips. He subconsciously licked his own as he replied, "I know," in a voice barely more than a whisper.

Then all other thoughts left their minds as the gap between them finally closed, and they both gave in to temptation. Their lips met and caressed each other in sweet, little kisses as their pent up emotion was finally released in the form of passion and lust. Harry ruffled Draco's hair, one hand smoothing back and forth through it, the other teasing with the back of his neck. Draco's arms were locked around Harry, one holding him close, the other squeezing his shoulder and pulling him closer with every passionate kiss.

After a few minutes, Harry broke away from Draco's firm embrace, panting slightly. "Wait," he gasped. "We can't do this here. It's not safe for you."

Draco nodded, licking his lips and fighting the urge to take Harry once more in kisses. "Safe for you, you mean."

"No," Harry replied, looking serious once more. "Your father is a dangerous man, but not only to me. You've seen what he's capable of doing to others, haven't you? What might happen if you disobey him again? He might kill both of us, Malfoy."

Draco considered this.

"We must be secret. We must keep this more safely than before, especially now that we know someone is following us. Everything has to be hush-hush."

Draco cracked a smile. "I cannot believe you just used that term."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Shut up. I was being serious."

Draco grabbed his arm and pulled him close, planting one long, luxurious kiss on Harry's lips before kissing down the side of Harry's neck slowly in a row. Harry moaned slightly as the sensation of Draco's lips and tongue licking and nipping at his neck sent shivers of delight down his spine. Shoving Draco away, he laughed and kissed Draco's cheek.

"I have to go, Hermione and Ron will be missing me. I'll see you in Potions tomorrow if not before." Harry walked towards the rest of the library, turning to take one last look at Draco, who stood alone in the dark corner of the library. He waved and disappeared.

TBC

**A/N:** I am so so sorry that this took so long to update. I wrote this ages ago with the assistance of my friend Caitlyn (fanfic writer Rigella) but as I got home from her house, I put the disk on the computer table to update later, and when I got back, my brother had tidied the computer room and I couldn't find it anywhere. Worse, he couldn't remember moving any disks. So I've been searching for it and today I found it! I'm really sorry it took so long, but at least it's a nice chapter to use as an update, they got back together! It's not even a cliffhanger for once.

So I hope I haven't lost too many readers, and I sincerely hope that this lives up to the expectations of all my loyal readers. Please review and either berate me for taking so long, or tell me what you think of this latest chapter.

Thanks to all my reviewers:

Ronin Daiymo: Funny, but you seem to be the first person to review every chapter of any story I write. It's awesome. You're cool!

Bluebellfairy: hands more socks there's some to replace the ones I blew away:P Hope they don't stay on your feet either:P

SuishouTenshi: Sorta like Blinky Bill! What a cute image!

HPfreakout: Well … I don't know about soon … but here's the update you hoped for! Sorry it took so long. I am ashamed. :P

Kazillion: In time, my child, all your questions will be answered. Including the one about the sugar. I'm hearting you back again!

AngelWings6: Here's an even more beautiful Draco! One who speaks from the heart and is all fluffy and romantic with Harry. What more could we want!

Piper13: Hello my darling faithful reviewer! Hope you didn't hate me for not updating. Here's one without a cliffy! I wrote it with your review in mind:P

Kiva Sky: Thank you! Sorry it wasn't really soon, but … you know … hope you still liked it!


	15. Strange Happenings

Title: Like a Fairytale

Author: Stardrops

Genre: Romance

Rating: PG 13: Some violence and slash, precautions only.

Summary: Faced with difficult decisions about his future, Draco forms some unlikely friendships. A passionate romance is sparked – but is not as secret as he supposed. Someone is stalking Draco at Hogwarts – suddenly, keeping himself and Harry safe is more complicated than he imagined.

Chapter Fifteen: Strange Happenings

Hermione was scribbling so fast that her entire body was moving. Her paper was squeaking with the pressure her quill was being used with. Suddenly, there was a tearing sound, and Hermione lifted her hand to see that her quill had torn a nice long rip in her parchment. She groaned aloud. Slamming her book as hard as she could on the table, she buried her face in her hands and ran her fingers through her hair. Yanking through the tangles in her messy locks, she gritted her teeth in irritation and breathed slowly to try and calm down.

Harry watched this from across the table, trying to conceal a grin at her obvious frustration.

"Hermione? Everything all right?" he asked once he'd gotten his expression under control.

She looked up abruptly, apparently having forgotten that Harry was there. It was very late at night and they were in the common room. Everyone else had gone to bed already, but Hermione and Harry had stayed up, claiming the need to study for the N.E.W.T.'s. It wasn't uncommon for students to be up until all hours of the morning studying for these exams, when they suddenly got a rush of fear about failing the life determining exams. It had become a regular occurrence to see students poring over books and parchment. Tonight, however, it was only Harry and Hermione studying. Or in Harry's case, pretending to study while really dreaming about Draco. And in Hermione's case, thinking too much.

She sighed and leaned forward forlornly on her elbows, stretching her cheeks out with her palms. Her quill was leaking slightly, but she made no move to stop it. "Everyone is acting so weird lately, Harry."

Harry nodded. "And, by everyone, you actually mean Ron, right?"

Hermione tried to conjure an indignant look to throw at Harry, but failing that, she simply nodded glumly. "He's never around anymore, and when he is, he's really distracted. What on earth is his problem?"

Harry could see that she was becoming really distressed. "Hermione, he's probably just tired. This is seventh year; we're all stressed out about the N.E.W.T.'s. And you know what Ron's and my grades are always like; we're hardly the top of our year, are we?"

Hermione shook her head vigorously. "No, Harry, that's got nothing to do with it. Ron has never cared about his grades that much. It's something bigger than that. And … and …" Hermione looked down at the table. "I think it's something to do with his love life. I've seen him staring off into space at dinner and he's hardly eaten half of what he used to. He's just always looking blank and thoughtful now. It must be a girl."

Harry frowned. "Hermione, I'm sure you're reading too much into this. He's probably fine."

"Have you seen him much lately?" she asked, desperately. "Has he given you any reason to think that something is up with him?"

Harry laughed. "You've seen him much more than I have. You know how busy everything is with Quidditch and trying to keep all the homework done. I've hardly seen him at all. But when I have, it's been fine. He's not keeping a girl from us, I'm sure."

Hermione didn't look convinced, but she fell silent at that point, and Harry turned back to his homework.

His troubles with Draco were not only affecting his relationship with the boy, everything else was suffering as well. He couldn't concentrate on schoolwork when he was fighting with Draco, but god knows that work was the last thing to occupy his mind whenever they were on good terms.

All he could think about was the look of desire in Draco's eyes the last time they'd been alone – in the library. He always felt light-headed to remember the gentle but definite kisses they'd shared, and often lost track of time when he was reminiscing.

That very day, in classes, he'd sneaked looks at Draco from across the room. The Slytherin was always very in control, smoothly controlling everyone around him with his cool indifference. It always fascinated Harry, and he found himself longingly wishing to be a part of them just so he could openly love Draco instead of keeping it all inside.

Even though Hermione knew, it was difficult to tell her about it. She still didn't understand the reasons for their attraction. It was the sort of thing that she would have laughed at if someone had told her it would happen years ago. But she could see how happy Harry was now, and was glad for him. He'd never been so happy with his other girlfriends. There was something about Draco which lit Harry up from the inside and made him sparkle. That was something rare, and Hermione was afraid to question it in case it disappeared. In her opinion, it hardly mattered who the person was that was bringing such joy to Harry as long as they were.

&&&

Draco lay back on his bed, his legs crossed and foot tapping the air to the silent rhythm that he could hear in his mind. A half smile crossed his face, and he closed his eyes, content to simply try to bring the image of Harry's beautiful face to him again. It seemed imprinted on his brain, yet sometimes it took so long for him to find the exact shade of green in Harry's eyes, the beautiful tanned colour of his skin and the dark, shimmering hair that was determined never to tame. It took his breath away and left him feeling faint and weak with passion and lust.

He remembered the expression Harry had used – hush-hush. It still made him chuckle to think about it. Harry was such a dork, he thought fondly. Every time Harry said something so silly or clichéd, it made Draco just want to reach out and smother the boy in loving kisses.

His smile dissipated slightly as he thought about his father's threat. What was he going to do about it? Harry was so unconcerned about it, but it was hardly easy to convey the exact glare and hatred that Draco had seen in Lucius that night. It was not the way a father looked at a son. It was the way that he had once looked at Harry – with utter loathing.

It still made him feel slightly sick inside. The worst thing about the situation was that he knew his father was perfectly capable of doing everything he'd threatened to do. It was just a matter of time, and he was guarding everything so closely that it was exhausting him. He was almost too afraid to go to sleep at night since the Slytherins had slipped him the chocolates. He could no longer trust any of them.

It was immensely unsettling to realise that you can't trust people that you'd imagined to be friends for years. Crabbe and Goyle had been his friends as a young child, and all of a sudden he was afraid of being alone with them, eating with them, even sleeping in the same room as them. There was no way of telling whether they were about to do something to transport him back to his father. Particularly as none of them had mentioned the incident of transportation to his father the first time, and were behaving as though nothing had happened. Sometimes Draco wondered if it really was the Slytherins who had been the culprits, but then his commonsense reminded him that there was no one else who could have.

He shivered. What he wouldn't give to be with Harry right now, just to lie there in his arms and feel safe once again. So many years of his life had been wasted in evil intent and hating other wizards that were beneath him, when all the while, if he'd only acted like a real person, he could have been Harry's friend from the beginning. There was no knowing what he would have turned out like had that been the case. Perhaps he could have avoided all the hurt that he'd caused so many people over the years.

A pang hit his stomach as he thought about his mother. He missed her dreadfully. Normally, she sent him packages at least twice a week with homemade food and letters about what was happening at home. No doubt the reason that he hadn't received a single letter from his mother was his father. While Narcissa could be scathing to other women, she was secretly as vulnerable as anyone else. Draco couldn't think of any decision that his mother had made by herself. From what to make for dinner to what actions she could take to assist Voldemort, she had always consulted Lucius. Narcissa was hardly Narcissa when Lucius was around. But when it was just his mother and he, it was the most happy he'd ever seen his mother. Regardless of what his father had said to him when he'd kicked Draco out, he knew his mother was missing him even more than he was missing her.

He sighed and tried to stop thinking for a while.

&&&

Morning came, and Hermione was still troubled. She hadn't realised how much she liked Ron until the thought of someone else taking him had arisen to her mind. She hadn't seen him that night, and she and Harry had been in the common room until the early hours of the morning.

She left the dormitory early and started to walk towards the Great Hall in search of Ron when her foot touched something soft.

Her heart leapt into her mouth and she jumped. There was a dark shadow lying on the ground before her – something large and solid, and covered in blankets. She was unsure of what to do. She had no idea what would be left in a dark corridor covered in blankets, except possibly one of Hagrid's pets. Hermione shuddered. That was a bad thing to think. She didn't want to run into one of Hagrid's 'harmless' pets this early in the morning, especially not while she was alone. And surely Hagrid wouldn't have left one of his animals inside the castle unattended. He'd have been looking after it better. So what on earth was this thing?

It was moving slightly, as though it was breathing. This didn't content Hermione, though. "Okay," she whispered to herself. "It's alive. That's … great."

What was she supposed to do? She couldn't simply walk away and leave it, if it was something dangerous, it could easily find the passageway into the Great Hall and hurt other people, not to mention cause a hysteria. She was the Head Girl. She had a responsibility to ensure other student's safety, surely? So – it was perfectly understandable for her to investigate a possible threat.

She closed her eyes and kicked it as hard as she could, prepared to run if something bad happened.

"Mmffph!" came an indignant yelp from beneath the blankets. Hermione blinked. It was a person. And not just any person either. Her eyebrow lifted in astonishment as she watched a tangled mass of red hair emerge from the blankets.

"Ron!" she exclaimed. "What on earth are you doing?"

Ron's eyes opened and blinked, focusing on Hermione. He lifted a hand to his head and groaned. "Hermione. What are you doing here? It's early."

Hermione was slightly taken aback. "Ron, you're outside the common room, lying in the corridor at about seven in the morning. What is going on?"

He sat up gingerly and rubbed his arm. "N-nothing. I mean, I'm fine. I just came out to get some fresh air and I must have fallen asleep. You know how stressful things are lately." He yawned and sat looking miserable. Hermione had never seen him like this, and she didn't know what to say. "I can barely sleep at all anymore with all the work that I have to do."

He drew a hand across his eyes and Hermione noticed for the first time how tired he looked. "Ron, you look awful. Is there anything I can do to help?"

He shook his head. "No. It's pretty much just time. I need more of it and I can't get it."

Hermione's heart wrenched. He looked so small and sad. "Come on," she said, taking his hand and leading him back towards the common room. "You need to get dressed and have some breakfast and then you need to skip the first class and go back to bed and sleep properly. I'll take some notes for you and help you with any work you miss, but please get some rest, Ron."

Ron looked at her with an expression she couldn't quite decipher. "Are you serious?" he asked. "I'd really appreciate that."

She smiled shyly. "Well, you look like you could use a rest, and yeah. I am serious about it."

He grinned and squeezed her hand. "Thanks, Hermione. You're a great friend."

She waited for him to finish dressing and then they walked together into the Great Hall and sat down to eat. Hermione felt much lighter inside, and she beamed to see Ron shovelling in food as though he had never tasted such wonderful delicacies before. It was only toast, but she watched him wolf down four pieces with jam and then start on a huge plate of pancakes. At least she knew he was eating and resting now. If she kept her eye on him for a few more days, he would be back to normal.

&&&

Harry looked out the window, down towards Hagrid's hut. He was frowning, deep in thought. Ron had been looking very pale lately, and he wasn't sleeping well. There had to be something else going on. But Ron wouldn't keep a secret from Harry. He wasn't physically capable of keeping any big secrets, anyway. But … it didn't make sense. Ron had never cared about his work very much, and was being strangely distant from both of them this year. Was there something going on that Ron wasn't telling them?

He felt his stomach rumble. It had been some time since breakfast and he was hungry again. He left the dormitory to go down to the Great Hall, hoping to question Ron a bit further. He knew Hermione was perfectly accepting of Ron's excuse about having lots of work and being more stressed this year than before, and for a moment, he felt a little guilty to be suspecting his best friend of acting weirdly. Ron was probably fine, except for being a little tired all the time. Harry grinned. Maybe Ron was having a secret romance and that was why he'd been out until all hours. It wasn't very likely, though. Ron wouldn't be able to keep that to himself.

He hadn't gone far before he heard a voice which he knew was Ron's. He grinned, thinking it was Hermione and Ron walking towards the Hall together. He was debating whether to call out to them to wait for him or to let them have some time alone together, but then he heard something strange. Some other voice was speaking – a female's voice – but it definitely was not Hermione's.

"You stayed out there all night! You could've gotten really sick, and then you'd be …"

"Shhh!" said Ron, his voice almost a whisper. "Don't say that."

Harry frowned. Who on earth was Ron talking to? He turned the corner and halted abruptly. Ron was standing there, with a girl, but he'd been absolutely right. It wasn't Hermione.

It was Pansy Parkinson.

They were standing together, his hands entwined in hers. His back was against the wall, and they were quiet, looking deep into each others eyes, almost trance-like. Harry had a terrible feeling that his entrance was going to break their romantic moment, and as he took in the sight of them standing so close and looking so intense, he gulped.

"Harry!" gasped Ron, shoving Pansy away from him. "What are you doing here?"

"I just came to see if you were okay … I didn't mean to interrupt," Harry muttered.

Pansy glared at him. Her eyes were a cold grey colour, and her gaze pierced him inside. He felt afraid for a moment, and a vision of Draco flashed before him.

"Um …" said Ron uncomfortably. "Harry, this – this doesn't look to great, does it?"

Harry put his hands up and started to walk away. "It's cool, man. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt. I'll catch you later." He threw Ron a very deliberate look that said quite plainly that they were going to have a VERY long talk later on when they 'caught up'.

Pansy stepped out in front of him. She was still glaring furiously at him, and for a moment, Harry wondered if perhaps he saw a flicker of fear in her own eyes. "Potter, you didn't see anything here, did you?" She raised an eyebrow and stared at him meaningfully.

Harry's heart nearly stopped. Normally, Pansy's eyes were expressionless and unreadable, but Harry could read them perfectly now. He knew that what she wasn't saying was that if Harry told anyone about her and Ron, Pansy would tell everyone about him and Draco. Which would get Draco so far into it with his father that –

He didn't want to think about that.

He shrugged helplessly, staring at his feet, and replied. "No."

&&&

Harry scurried up to the dormitories again, as fast as he could. Slamming the door behind him, he stood in the middle of the room for a moment, his breath coming quickly and his eyes wide and startled.

Ron and Pansy? Since when?

Hermione had been right.

An image flashed before him. That day in Hogsmeade – when the Hufflepuff had fallen into Ron and they'd had the massive showdown when Ron had tried to beat up Malfoy. Pansy had shown up halfway through and begun insulting Hermione. He remembered Pansy looking at Ron more than she'd looked at anyone else – and the harsh words they'd spoken to each other. Was that all an act, like he and Draco had pretended to hate each other? Or was that the beginning of their attraction?

Harry felt sick. He didn't know what to believe anymore.

&&&

**A/N: **Okay, this chapter is quite short, but it took such a long time to come to you that I thought I might as well post it anyhow. Remember, lovely ladies and gents, if you want an update, it really is influenced by whether or not I get reviews on my chapters. I look forward to reading all your comments and suggestions.

Big huggles go out to all my reviewers! Love you guys! Here's some personal shout outs – I try to reply to all reviews, so if I miss you, let me know!

Ronin Daiymo: Dear me, I'm sorry! I shall try not to insult you in future … :P

RoschLupinBlack: Don't count on it. I think it's time this story began to get action-packed. Prepare for a big ride next chapter! (or the one after. I haven't quite decided.)

Angel-wings6: Ah, we all know that feeling. :P Hope you liked this next chapter, I promise lots more action coming up!

Bluebellfairy: I'm buying socks tomorrow! Knee high striped toe socks. I can't wait!

Piper13: Hello, faithful reviewer! I'm back! Ooooh … you think I'm a legend. I feel special. :)

December jewel: Wow, you read this at school? I feel very special! I'm glad you like it so much!

BrownEyedAthena: hello dearest! How are you? Loved getting your three reviews, and your email! Will reply soon, promise. Love you!

Carrie leigh: It won't be much longer, I promise! Let me get to the action though!

Zoomaphonethepirate: yeah, that would be because I am so slack with updating it. I will change that nasty habit though, promise!

Review!


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